January 18, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 27, 1427

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KARACHI, Jan 17: Going to the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) on official assignments has always been a hassle for working sports journalists.

Being a Naval domain, it is quite cumbersome to gain access to the Karsaz venue, whether one owns a transport or otherwise. On Wednesday, the Dawn correspondent was among other newsmen invited for a press conference on the eve of Asian Tour Pakistan Open at the KGC at 12.30pm.

Keeping in view the past experiences, the PGF secretary, Taimur Hasan, was reminded by newsmen to ensure the pick and drop at the felicitation desk outside the PN Karsaz check post.

He furnished the media representatives with the mobile number of one Major Arshad who was, apparently, assigned the task of arranging the transportation whenever needed.

But upon reaching the felicitation desk this correspondent was informed that the organisers had not made any such arrangements. A Naval official then asked the scribe to hire a small public pickup which shuttles inside the Karsaz vicinity and charges Rs5 per person.

This correspondent then made efforts to contact the organizing representatives Taimur, Arshad and Captain Khalid Ali Anwar but could not get through to their cell phones.

After repeated attempts, Arshad was finally traced who in turn asked for some time to make the necessary arrangements. But as it increasingly became an ‘endless wait’, there was no choice left but to take the long walk back to the main road.