Overburdened Mani to head Task Force

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has given already overburdened Ehsan Mani yet another important role as he is made head of the Task Force to look into the reasons of sports decline in the country and to suggest ways and means to improve the overall standard.

The decision came following a briefing held at PM House Tuesday with Inter Provincial (IPC) Minister Dr Fahmida Mirza briefing PM on federations’ working and reasons of recent Asian Games debacle.

Imran Khan was upset at Asiad performance and sought detailed explanation of contingent failure that picked mere three bronze.After forming Terms of Reference (ToR), the IPC Ministry and Ehsan Mani would sit together to finalize other members of the Task Force.

‘The News’ has learnt that Mani who is also heading Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was reluctant to take over the responsibility but had no other option when stressed by the PM.Mani would be heading a Task Force which would include all those members who had no direct interest and have nothing at stake in Pakistan sports.

“Prime Minister orders constitution of a Task Force on Sports to review sports organizations performance and to make recommendations for administrative reforms in sports,” a government handout says.

Secretary IPC Jamil Ahmed briefed the Prime Minister about the functions of the Ministry and performance of various attached departments including Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), PCB, Inter Board Committee of Chairman, Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council, National Academy of Performing Arts, National Internship Program.

Discussing the budgetary allocations of the Ministry and various development schemes for promoting sports in the country, the Prime Minister was informed that various important schemes worth billions of rupees were left incomplete since 2008.

Discussing the performance of various sports federations and associations, it was decided to take on the plethora of sports federations/associations for non-performance resulting in a pathetic outlook of Pakistan sports despite getting funding from various national and international sources including federal and provincial governments.