LANDI KOTAL: The Fata Olympic Association (FOA) on Saturday strongly opposed its merger into Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Olympics Association, emphasising that such a move would deprive promising players from the tribal areas of exposure and opportunities in sports.

At the FOA annual general council meeting chaired by its president Shahid Khan Shinwari, the members expressed their reservations over the proposed abolition of the Fata Olympics Associ­ation, and insisted on its continuation for better management and promotion of sports activities in the newly-merged tribal districts.

The meeting was also attended by office-bearers of various sports bodies along with the lone female cricketer Jamima Afridi.

The participants of the meeting observed that the FOA had organised various sports activities in the tribal districts under very challenging circumstances when these regions were reeling under the influence of militant organisations.

“The FOA engaged tribal youth in healthy activities for over a decade thus keeping them away from the [negative] influence of outlawed groups,” the participants of the meeting noted.

They said the FOA over the years had played an effective role in ending what they termed the ‘kalashnikov culture’ in tribal areas and replaced it with productive sports activities.

“Therefore, any move to abolish the FOA will result in lawlessness in tribal regions along

with pushing local youth into unlawful activities,” the participants of the meeting cautioned.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2019