KP sports journalists not happy with PCB

PESHAWAR: The Sports Writers Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (SWAKP) here Monday criticised ‘indifferent’ attitude of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) towards the sports journalists of the province and asked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to intervene into the matter and address their reservations.

Association of International Press Sports (AIPS) General Secretary Amjad Aziz Malik said the PCB and its incumbent chairman Najam Sethi ignored the sports journalists of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the third edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) and that is the cause of serious concern amongst them.

He said that Sethi did not visit the province in the past five years, adding that the KP sports journalists were sidelined in the PSL since its introduction in 2016.The senior journalist claimed that not a single journalist from KP was invited to the opening ceremony or any other event related to the PSL.

Amjad stated that KP sports journalists had rendered great services for the promotion of sports and continued to perform their professional duty during the time when militancy was at its peak to promote soft image of the country at international stage.

“How the international sports would return to Peshawar when the people such as chairman PCB did not bother to visit KP,” he added.SWAKP president Jehanzeb Saddique said the PCB should give equal rights and importance to the sports journalist irrespective of their class, caste and creed.

“It is not fair to ignore the journalist from a federating unit where they continued to work for promotion of sports despite unfavorable conditions,” he added.Senior sports journalist Ijaz Ahmad said that it was the right of sports journalists of KP to be given due representation in national and international level sports events.

“We want same respect and rights being given to sports journalists of other parts of the country,” he added.The sports journalists also urged Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who is also patron-in-chief of PCB, to take note of the ‘step-motherly attitude’ meted out by the incumbent PCB’s management towards the KP sports journalists.