Pirzada aims to lift sports

KARACHI: Following his return to the ministry after getting assurances from the Prime Minister that all his grievances would be addressed, the federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that he would have to do something different for the uplift of the country’s sports in his remaining tenure.

“Yes, I will have to do something different for sports uplift in the remaining time period,” Pirzada told ‘The News’ in a brief chat from Islamabad on Saturday.

He also confirmed that he returned to his ministry after a meeting with the PM in Islamabad on Friday.

“The Prime Minister assured me of all support and it’s very important. He held my hand and told me to come along and start working. I have resumed my work from Friday,” he said.

“I hope I will not face any impediment in my work,” he said.

Pirzada had resigned in protest at the end of last month after Director General of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Dr Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera was suspended for reasons not notified.

An inquiry is likely to be initiated against him.

Because of the suspension, the PSB also had to postpone the second edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Provincial Games which was scheduled to be held earlier this month in Islamabad.

The PSB has said that the Games would be held in October. But because of the National Games the same month in Quetta, the Board would have to reschedule the same competition again.

To a query, Pirzada said that Ganjera would also hopefully come back. “We have not spent any money during the last two years and what will happen if an inquiry is conducted in the case of Ganjera?” he stated.

About the performance of Pakistan’s contingent in the Islamic Games, the minister said that the mishaps of Ganjera’s suspension and his resignation caused the issues. “The two incidents did upset the whole system. No well-learned and technical person was with the contingent that had left for Baku and that created problems. Had DG himself been there it would have made the difference. We were also expecting gold medals but unfortunately that could not happen. We had worked hard for the Games and the camps were held for three months,” Pirzada said.

Pakistan overall ended 27th among 54 nations by grabbing nine bronze and three silver medals.

The minister said that efforts would be made to overcome all the shortcomings of Pakistan’s sports. “I will ask for a report on the Games and then we will analyse where the shortcomings are and how these could be overcome,” Pirzada said.

He said that he would try to resolve the issue between Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA).

“The issue between the two has harmed judo. I will talk to both the parties and will try to find a solution to the issue. Japan-based Shah Hussain is a fine player and he could do something good for Pakistan in the Islamic Games,” he added.

The entries for judo had not be sent by the POA due to its differences with the PJF that had deprived judokas from featuring in the Islamic Games held in the Azerbaijan’s capital Baku from May 12-22.

Pakistan’s next target is the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games to be held in Turkmenistan in September.