ISLAMABAD: Representatives of several leading sports federations in the country have expressed their unwillingness and reservations over participation in the upcoming South Asian Games in India due to the fundamentalist group Shiv Sena’s threats and India’s persistent refusal to play scheduled cricket series with Pakistan.

Officials of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said the government will be briefed on the issue of participation in Games in due course and they will take a decision soon in this regard.

The federation representatives said the Hindu fanatic organisation Shiv Sena’s agitation against Pakistani players, artistes and officials in the recent days could escalate into a serious security challenge for the Pakistan contingent at the South Asian Games.

While the Pakistan contingent is training hard for the South Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Feb 2016 in the Northeast Indian cities of Gauhati and Shillong, the recent incidents in India are making their participation quite difficult indeed.

Khalid Mehmood, secretary general of the POA, said the fate of Pakistan’s participation in the event will be decided after the government’s approval.

“We have a meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Washington on Oct 29 and 30 and in this meeting we will raise the security and saftey issue with our Indian counterparts. We will then convey its outcome to the government and a final decision about the national contingent’s participation will be taken after that,” he said.

Mohammad Azam Dar, director National Federations, Pakistan Sports Board, said it is a bit premature to say anything about the participation in SAG at this stage. “The training camps of the various sports federations’ to participate in the Games are in progress and it is still a bit early to decide about our participation,” he said.

“But it is also a fact that due to India’s unreasonable approach towards Pakistan, other sports bodies cannot remain aloof and need to finally decide whether to compete in India at all.”

Mohammad Arshad Sattar, Secretary, Pakistan Wrestling Federation said: “India’s attitude against Pakistan in the recent days has gone from bad to worse and I think these Games shouldn’t be held in India.

“If still this event is to be held in India then they must provide us with sound security as Pakistanis have serious threats from Shiv Sena in that country,” he added.

Malik Iftikhar Ahmed, president of the Pakistan Wushu Federation, said Pakistan should not participate in the Games because of the shabby manner in which they are treating Pakistanis. “It is a matter of our country’s prestige and nothing is more important to us than our dignity,” he said.

Amjid Amin Butt, honorary secretary of the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, said only if the security situation improves Pakistan will participate in the Games but added that it seems very much unlikely.

“We have always shown sportsman spirit but unfortunately India has always lacked it.”

Syed Azhar Ali Shah, honorary secretary of the Pakistan Cycling Federation, said if India wants to conduct the South Asian Games then it should first improve its attitude towards Pakistan. “The way they are treating our cricketers and artists is painful and if the situation remains the same then we should not participate in the Games,” he asserted.

Shamim Hashmi, honorary secretary of the Pakistan Karate Federation, said the national karate team won’t be participating in the Games. “India has some internal issue of their national karate federation and they have withdrawn the karate event from the Games,” he said.

Group Captain Aamir Nawaz, honorary secretary of the Pakistan Squash Federation, said it is not up to him to decide about the team’s participation in the event. “It is the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC), Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the POA who will decide about that.”

Mohammad Sarwar, honorary secretary of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation, said he wants the Games to be conducted in a way where Pakistanis are given full protocol and due respect.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2015

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