National Games postponed till Dec

President, Punjab Olympic Association, Syed Shahid Ali Shah has resigned from the office under protest expressing his inability to hold the National Games in Lahore next month. The National Games which were to b held on October 16 to 22 at Lahore has been postponed and will now be held in December. The decision was takn in a meeting of the Pakistan Olympics Association here on Thursday. POA president said that if Punjab failed to organize the Games it will be given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Some quarters have launched a negative campaign against me for not been able to organize the National Games being the head of the Punjab Olympic and in the given circumstances I strongly feel and believe that I can not handle it (holding of the games) and has stepped down,” Syed Shahid told newsmen after a meeting of PbOA here.
Shahid Ali Shah who remained in office for nine years expressed his disappointment over the sorry state of affairs in sports and said certain “quarters” were not in favour of holding the Games on time in Lahore.
“What I have concluded is that I am not in a position to organize the games fromthe platform of PBOA and left with no option but to resign,” he asserted.
The outgoing President made it clear that he would not reserve his decision as he has made up his mind to step down after a thorough consideration.“I am not a politician nor an individual who will consider to take back the resignation , I am a man of principles and I am leading my life with them “,he said when an office bearers of the PbOA intervened and said (he) Shahid will consider to reverse his decision.
He said he would take up the matter of his resignation to the highest authorities of the province to get justice and to prove that he did his best for the cause of promotion of sports in the province.
“This matter is not yet over ,now I am no more associated with PbOA and I will do my best to unearth those aspects which led me to this point (resignation),” he said.
Punjab Olympic illegal body: VP PbOA
Vice President, Punjab Olympic Association, Rana Mujahid Ali has said that PBOA has become an illegal body after majority of its present office bearers have completed two successive terms in the office. “PbOA is being run by majority of those office bearers who are in office for decades and they must respect the decision of Supreme Court in implementing the national sports policy which bars any office bearers in office for a third term in running “,he told a press conference here on Thursday at National hockey stadium.
He said it was a good omen that the President, PBOA, Syed Shahid Ali Shah has resigned showing respect to the decision of the supreme court and urged Secretary, Idris Haider Khawaja and other office bearers who have completed more than two terms to follow the decision of their President. “He has shown a good gesture and others should follow it,” he added. Mujahid who is also the Secretary of Punjab Olympic Association appealed to the highest authorities of the country to save the future of sports in country and implement Supreme Court’s decision on National Sports Policy in true letter and spirit.
“There is no justification to stick to the posts after the judgment of the Court and we are with the Government and the Pakistan Sports Board as far as the implementation of the courts policy is concerned and we will go to every forum to highlight this issue,” he asserted.
Mujahid said he has raised his concern at the forum of Punjab Olympic Association and walked out of the meeting which was chaired by illegal President and had the presence of President, Pakistan Olympic Association, Syed Arif Hasan who has also become an illegal President of the national Olympic committee after the decision of the court.
“It is unfortunate that office bearers of the national Olympic association and the provincial Olympic Associations are not serious in implementing it and they are still running the respective bodies but they have no legal status “,he said.