Why are Pakistan's sports authorities proposing to ban the country's boxing chief for life?

By Alamzeb Safi

At a time when Pakistan’s contingent is featuring in the Paris Olympics, leakage of the so-called findings of an inquiry committee constituted by the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) recommending imposing life bans on the Pakistan Boxing Federation’s (PBF) president Khalid Mehmood for his alleged involvement in human-smuggling and other irregularities has created quite a stir in the country’s sports circles.

PBF secretary Col (retd) Nasir Tung is also facing similar accusation and could be banned for life if the IPC Ministry succeeds in its latest effort to show its teeth.

The case against Khalid Mehmood and Col Tung

Nukta.com has learnt through well-placed sources that a three-member committee had been formed by the IPC to dig out the issue of the country’s ace boxer Zohaib Rasheed, who vanished in Italy just before the kick-off of the Paris Olympics qualifying round a few months ago.

Sources said that the committee has recommended that both the top officials of the PBF should be banned for life over the incident in Italy which tarnished Pakistan's image abroad. One of them Khalid Mehmood, the PBF chief, also happens to be the secretary of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and is in Paris these days to witness the Olympic Games.

A PBF official told this correspondent that a probe committee formed by PBF had already stated in its report that PBF had no hand in Zohaib Rasheed’s episode as he was the premier fighter and was sent to Italy with the hope that he would make it to the Paris Olympics.

“Even his department ( Pakistan Navy) had issued him an NOC,” the official said.

The official added that PBF is an autonomous body, wondering that how a state-formed committee, which had people with low credentials, could recommend ban on the top officials of the federation.

The official said that the "committee does not know the meaning of human-smuggling."

A twist in the tale

He alleged that the main aim of the state authorities is to target Khalid Mehmood before the POA election which is going to be held in September-October this year.

Asked whether PBF has been officially informed about the recommendations of the committee, the official said that they have leaked this only through social media.

"No, we have not received anything officially,” the official said.

This correspondent tried to contact top state officials but they did not pick the calls.

Ongoing power struggle

This is not a new thing that Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has tried to impose its superiority on the federations and POA which is an autonomous body affiliated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

A few years ago, PSB backed a parallel POA and it really put the country on the brink of international sanctions.

The then POA chief Lt General (retd) Syed Arif Hasan refused to give in forcing the then IPC minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada to settle the matters with the IOC through the Lausanne Agreement.

Although the agreement saved Pakistan from suspension the cold war between the POA, federations and the PSB still persists.

There are a few federations who are recognized by the PSB but they are not recognized by the POA.

When Faisal Saleh Hayat was the chief of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) PSB had left no stone unturned in its efforts to destabilize him before he filed a petition against the Board in the top court.

Lack of incentives?

“Its unfortunate that the PSB is doing such things instead of doing its job properly,” an official of a federation told Nukta.com.

“Look, Zohaib vanished in Italy, a couple of boxers did the same thing after featuring in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and even before them a swimmer vanished in Hungary. Why these athletes do so? If you don’t give them incentives then definitely such things will happen,” he said.

PSB has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Board came under intense fire from all quarters after it surrendered Rs380 million to the Finance Division for the fiscal year 2023-24. It's failure to utilise funds at a time when national athletes had been crying for financial help did not go well with the country's sports community.

"Look, a huge amount was surrendered by the PSB to the finance division. Is this the right way to govern sports? I think its totally against the interests of sports and athletes,” the official said.

"Our sports will not flourish unless all bodies work in their own domain."