ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination on Wednesday directed the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to conduct an audit of the grants received from the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympics Committee through the Auditor General of Pakistan.

The POA has had a topsy-turvy relationship with the government in the past and the move by the committee, which met here with MNA Nawab Sher in the chair, is an attempt to establish a check and balance on affairs of the country’s Olympic body.

It follows a meeting in September last year where the IPC Ministry and POA had vowed to work together and improve their relations.

“We’re not a subordinate organisation of the government and the AGPR is supposed to conduct an audit of government organisations,” POA secretary general Khalid Mahmood, who attended the meeting, told Dawn.

“We have our audit conducted by private auditors while the IOC also holds an audit of the POA every four years,” added Khalid, who reiterated that the POA doesn’t receive any funding from the government.

“As a matter of rule, this kind of audit shouldn’t be conducted but once the minutes of the meeting come, we will put this matter before our executive committee to decide further course of action.”

Earlier at the meeting, Khalid told the committee that the national Olympic committee had secured monthly scholarships of US$625 each for 12 elite athletes from the IOC in order to prepare them for next year’s Games in Paris. He added that each athlete will avail US$20,000 till the start of the Olympics in August next year.

Khalid informed that the POA did not receive any grants from the government but got grants from the OCA and IOC to which it was directed to conduct an audit by the AGPR.

He added that the job of the POA, established in 1948, was to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in the country in accordance with the Olympic Charter and said that its responsibility was to facilitate the participation of Pakis­tan’s athletes and teams at international multi-sports events.

The POA also conducts National/Inter Provincial Gam­es in collaboration with respective provincial associations and governments, Khalid added. The secretary said that POA arranges capacity-building programs for athletes, coaches, and technical officials/sports leaders.

‘STRICT ACTION AGAINST PFF NC’

The Committee also directed the Pakistan Sports Board Director General to take strict action against officials of the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee, who sent national football teams abroad without a no-objection certificate.

The Committee also summoned PFF NC chairman Haroon Malik to attend the next meeting and brief the committee about the wor­king and performance of the country’s football governing body.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023