NA body summons PCB Chairman and Managing Director

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) has expressed displeasure over the absence of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani and Managing Director Wasim Khan and directed that the presence of both must be ensured in the next meeting.

The Committee met with Agha Hassan Baloch in the chair at Parliament House on Friday. The Committee recommended that the constitution of Pakistan Cricket Board should be discussed briefly in the next meeting. The Committee deferred the briefing on the performance of Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Cricket Team during world cup 2019 due to the absence of Chairman PCB.

The Committee expressed displeasure over the non-presence of Ehsan Mani and Wasim Khan in the meeting as a comprehensive briefing on PCB and Pakistan cricket team's performance in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, was on the cards.

The committee member Iqbal Muhammad Ali also walked-out in protest over the absence of the PCB Chairman and Managing Director. "When committee members from Quetta and Karachi can ensure their presence in the meeting, then why cannot PCB Chairman and Managing Director," he said. However PCB Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed was present in the meeting.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa also briefed the committee on the game's affairs.

He said Pakistan was not getting the pool of players it used to have in the past. "The absence of hockey competitions from schools and colleges was a major reason for the downfall of the game," he said.

He said the government must make hockey competitions mandatory in schools and colleges to revive the national game. "In the first phase, PHF would provide coaches, hockey sticks and balls to schools and colleges for holding competitions," he said and added PHF would also establish 18 to 20 academies in the country.

The Committee Chairman asked Bajwa to visit provinces including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab along with committee members to revive the game. He also asked him to present the report of the outcomes to the committee.

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Arif Ibrahim also informed the committee that the training camps in preparations for the South Asian Games would be held after the National Games.

The Committee questioned the appointment of Secretary Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Mr. Muhammad Asif Bajwa and directed that the detailed briefing should be given on the constitution of PHF and also on the decline of National Sports Hockey in the next meeting.

The Committee unanimously confirmed the minutes of its 4thmeeting held on 17th May, 2019.

Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Mebhoob Shah,  Gul Dad Khan, Gul Zafar Khan, Robina Jamil, Munawara Bibi Baloch, Shaheen Naz Saifullah, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, Ali Zahid, Ch. Zulfiqar Ali Bhinder, Rana Mubashir Iqbal, Muhammad Afzal Khokhar, Rasheed Ahmed Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Behan, Shahida Rehmani, Nasiba Channa, Muhammad Anwar and senior officers from the Ministry attended the meeting.