August 21, 2005	Sunday	Rajab 15, 1426

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LAHORE, Aug 20: Every national sports federation will give 20 percent representation to women members by the end of December this year. “It has been made mandatory to give representation as per directives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA),” the POA president Syed Arif Hasan said at a press briefing after chairing the POA executive committee meeting on Saturday.

Though the IOC also issued directives in this connection, the POA had already decided to take steps to give maximum representation to women.

He said that the women would be included in both the general and executive bodies of the federation with same percentage. In the past the POA had instructed the federations to induct women but the decision had not been implemented in letter and spirit.

The president said that the meeting also decided to send a contingent of 103 players and officials to take part in 11 disciplines of the fourth Women Islamic Countries Games to be held in Tehran, Iran from Sept 22 to 28.

The meeting, he said, had tentatively decided to send a contingent of 73 players in the 18th Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia from March 15 to 26 next year.

Pakistan would compete in athletics, swimming, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastic, shooting, squash, table tennis, weightlifting and hockey.

A strong squad of 350 sportspersons and officials would also represent the country in the 10th South Asian Games, to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from April 18 to 28.

He said that three federations — golf, equestrian, sailing — were instructed to comply their constitutions with the POA but only the Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF) made it.

He said that the POA itself would hold elections of the Pakistan Body-building Federation which had split into two factions.

However, he avoided to comment on the future of the Pakistan Basketball Federation and the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation, which had also divided into two groups.

“As the cases of both the federations are in the court of law I will not answer this question,” he said.

The executive committee has about 43 members which is almost equal to the general body committee. He admitted that the executive committee was large and a committee had been formed to reduce its numbers considerably.

“The IOC has 115 members in its general council but it has only 11 members in the executive body,” he said.

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