Minister promises PBSA release of special grants

KARACHI: The Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) has been assured by the federal government of the release of special grants as well as the cash awards for the cueists which have remained pending for a number of years.

The matter was discussed during a meeting of the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), Ehsan-ur-Rahman Mazari, with the PBSA Chairman, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, in Islamabad the other day. The Secretary Sports, IPC, Ahmed Hamid Orakzai, and Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board, Col Asif Zaman, also attended the meeting.

According to the press handout issued by the PBSA President, Jawed Karim, here on Thursday, the federal minister gave them the assurance that the pending special grant for 2021-22 was being processed and the payment would be released soon. The PBSA had approached the IPC Ministry for the release of special grants to meet the costs incurred for the participation in the previous two editions of the World Championship and the Asian Championship.

The minister also pledged to look into the long standing demand of the PBSA to have the annual governmental grants to federations/associations worked out on the basis of their performances in the preceding years.

The reigning IBSF World snooker champion, Ahsan Ramzan, who also met the minister, was assured early release of his cash award of Rs1 million.

The minister promised to facilitate in releasing the previous outstanding cash awards as well. He advised the PSB to hold a ceremony for the snooker medal winners.

Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Sajjad, Haris Tahir and Babar Masih are among the medal winning cueists whose cash awards have remained pending for the past couple of years.

The minister also agreed to provide suitable halls to the PBSA with the required standard playing conditions for the establishment of the snooker academies in Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi.