PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Olympic Association has granted affiliation to the FATA Olympic Association with a view to promote sports activities and defeat terrorism.

“Now Fata players would be able to compete in the national and provincial games to be held under the patronage of the Pakistan Olympic Association,” vice-president of the Pakistan Olympic Association Syed Aqil Shah told a news conference at the Qayyum Sports Complex here on Saturday.

He said 300 FATA-based players would now be taking part in 16 events of the national and provincial games while the female players would compete in four events. Gradually, they would be taking part in more events, he said.

Flanked by FATA director sports Faisal Jamil and Olympic Association secretary Shahid Shinwari, he said that a history has been written for which the PAO’s president General (retd) Arif Hassan deserved immense appreciation.

Aqil, who is also the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for sports, said now the number of PAO’s units had risen to 13 but the tribal population would be the main beneficiaries of the affiliation.

Meanwhile, the POA had approved the first-ever elected cabinet of the FATAOA which included Shaukatullah (president), Imtiaz Khan Afridi (senior vice-president), Khursheed Iqbal, Dilawar Khan and Dure Nayab (vice-presidents), and Shahid Khan Shinwari (general secretary) besides a 15-member executive committee.