KARACHI: Syed Wasim Hashmi, the chief organiser of the Karachi Sports Forum, has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Dr. Fehmida Mirza and all chief ministers to take immediate steps to help unemployed and unpaid athletes facing financial hardship due to the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.
In a statement, Wasim said that most of the athletes who hoisted the national flag in international events are currently living a life of extreme depression due to financial difficulties.
“We, from the platform of Karachi Sports Forum, are trying our best to assist those affected by the current situation of lockdown, by delivering ration bags, sanitisers and protective masks at the doorsteps of as many a deserving players and ground staff,” Wasim said.
He appealed to the prime minister to issue directives on emergency basis for the payment of salaries of the affected players and athletes.
It is pertinent to mention that the KSF chairman Asif Azeem immediately contacted Rashid Qambrani after the news broke in the media that Pakistan’s international boxer and Asian Games silver and South Asian Games gold medallist had not received his salary for two months.
Rashid said that he is working as a guard at Pakistan Steel and has not been paid salary for the last two months. He informed that his 17-year-old son passed away around three years ago due to lack of resources for his treatment.
He won a gold medal for Pakistan at the 1993 South Asian Games at Dhaka and in 1995 at Madras. In 1997, he won a silver medal at Asian Boxing Championship in Kuala Lumpur and also won a gold medal at the Quaid-e-Azam International Boxing Tournament staged in Karachi in 1997.
From 1997 to 2002, Rashid was fifth in the world rankings. He qualified for the Boxing World Cup in 1997 and remained the national boxing champion for 14 consecutive years.
Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2020
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