ISLAMABAD, March 22: The 9th SAF Games which were to begin in Islamabad on March 29 have been postponed and not cancelled, organisers announced on Saturday.

They said that a final decision on the fate of the Games would be taken at the 29th South Asian Sports Federation (SASF) meeting scheduled for April 1 in Islamabad.

The organisers said that the government had decided to postpone the Games keeping in view the current situation arising because of the war in Iraq.

The luckless Games have had to be postponed twice before, first in 2001 because of the events of 9/11 and then again in 2002 when tension between Pakistan and India grew over the disputed Kashmir region.

The organisers disclosed they had been contacted by officials of at least three countries including Sri Lanka, who had also suggested that the event be postponed.

Meanwhile the SAF Games secretariat in the premises of the Pakistan Sports Complex, which until Friday afternoon was humming with activity, wore a gloomy look Saturday morning.

“It has been a case of being ‘so near yet so far’,” a Games official who asked not to be named said. “It is indeed disappointing for us but then again it is our government’s decision.”