Pakistan's national sports policy sent to PM Imran Khan without consulting stakeholders

• Sports policy sent to the Prime Minister without consulting us, say major stakeholders.
  
• Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination secretary confirms new sports policy sent to Prime Minister for approval.
• The National Sports Policy was first made in 2001.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's national sports policy was reportedly reconstituted and sent to Prime Minister Imran Khan for approval by the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) without taking major stakeholders into confidence, The News reported Thursday.

The ministry is responsible for coordination between the federal and the provincial governments.

IPC Secretary Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna — a former chess and bridge colour-holder — admitted that the new sports policy has been sent to the Prime Minister for approval.

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The publication reported that a committee made on June 8, 2020 after a meeting of the Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) executive committee, too, has "no clue" if the policy has been rewritten.

Pakistan Tennis Federation President Salim Saifullah Khan, the IPC secretary, a former renowned sportsman, an Higher Education Commission representative and PSB’s legal adviser are on this committee.

Saifullah was not aware of any meeting of the committee to consult on the national sports policy.

“I only know that a committee had been formed in June, 2020 and I am one of the member's of that committee. I am yet to even see the notification. No one from the ministry has called me for any such meeting,” Saifullah was quoted as saying by The News.

He opined that input from the federations is a must.

Saifullah said he was happy to learn that there were two members of the federation in the committee. "Since we are stakeholders, I hope all the leading federations will be consulted before any such move,” Saifullah said.

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Pakistan Hockey Federation President Brig (retired) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar was also in the dark on any sports policy being sent to the Prime Minister.

He didn't think it was possible for the IPC ministry to finalise a sports policy without consulting stakeholders.

"Hockey is our national game and as such is a big stakeholder. We have not been consulted so I don’t think anything like that could have happened,” he said.

The biggest stakeholder — the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) — also has no idea about the finalisation of any policy.

“No one from the ministry has consulted us on this matter. We have not been informed about any such move. No one from the ministry has invited us for any meeting where the policy was to be discussed. I don’t think that is possible,” POA Secretary Mohammad Khalid Mehmood said.

What is the National Sports Policy?

The National Sports Policy was first made in 2001.

It was then reviewed in 2005. It was never revisited following the 18th Amendment and a realistic approach was never adopted considering the changing scenario of majority of the powers being shifted to the provinces.

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It is widely accepted that there is a greater need to review the policy with the consent of stakeholders.

Besides taking federations and the POA into confidence, journalists, sponsors, and the Anti-Doping Authority of Pakistan is also required to be taken on board before finalising such a policy. However, no meeting or  seminar was ever organised by the ministry or PSB to discuss the salient features of the policy.

“The sports policy is not for the ministry but for the stakeholders. It is not something that should be finalised while sitting in isolation or behind the closed doors. Prime Minister Imran Khan always advocated for open debate before finalising any thorny issue,” a federation official said.