Government Demands Resignation from Lt Gen Arif Hasan
The Government of Pakistan wants to brighten the future of sports in the country starting with asking Lt Gen Arif Hasan to resign as the president of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), a post he’s held since 2004.
According to the details, this demand was made by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Shehbaz Gil at a news conference held at the Press Information Department on Friday in which Arif Hassan was asked to resign as the POA president. Pakistan has failed to win an Olympic medal since 1992. A meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on the Olympics decided that the only way to end this tradition was for Arif Hassan to step down.
Speaking at a press conference along with Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Fehmida Mirza and director-general of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Colonel (R) Muhammad Asif Zaman, Shehbaz Gil said, “We cannot tolerate further embarrassment in sports. And on behalf of the nation, I will ask POA president to resign.” Moreover, Fehmida Mirza also supported Shehbaz Gil’s demand.
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“What we’ve seen over the years is that one personality is above everyone, above the law, above the government and has become untouchable,” she told media after the press conference.
It should be noted that in the past there have been attempts to remove Arif Hassan from the presidency of the Pakistan Olympic Association, but pressure from the International Olympic Committee, which does not allow for political or government interference in the matters of its member organisations, saw the government back down.
The POA has long claimed that its duty is to monitor the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Agency Code in Pakistan. After a news conference in Islamabad, they held an emergency meeting in Lahore to decide their position.
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