ISLAMABAD: The Board of Governors (BoG) of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has imposed bans on Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) president Khalid Mehmood and secretary retired Col. Nasir Ijaz Tung, preventing them from holding any future positions in national sports federations.

The BoG has also instructed the PSB to refer the case of the aforementioned office bearers to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). This decision follows an inquiry by the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) into the incident involving a Pakistani boxer who absconded in Italy in March.

The inquiry report revealed that the incident, which attracted significant media criticism “caused considerable disgrace for Pakistan” undermining trust among stakeholders and adversely affecting the opportunities for Pakistani athletes abroad.

Several boxers participated in the Italian tournament without obtaining the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the government or the PSB.

The committee noted that the case potentially involves human trafficking and, with input from the BoG, may warrant further investigation by the FIA.

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During a meeting on September 10, the BoG approved the inquiry committee’s recommendations, including the referral to the FIA, recovery of a surety bond of Rs1 million from the responsible officials, and a ban on both Khalid and Nasir from future roles in national sports federations.

Additionally, the BoG instructed the Director General of PSB to write to the FIA to verify the NOCs of all athletes claiming to represent Pakistan in international competitions, advocating for the issuance of bar-coded NOCs verifiable via the PSB website.

The BoG also recommended a permanent ban on boxer Zohaib Rasheed, who absconded in Italy, preventing him from future representation of Pakistan.

It is noteworthy that the earlier absconding of boxers Suleman Baloch and Nazeerullah in England post-Commonwealth Games adds context to the issue.

Khalid was unavailable for comment; however, Nasir, while talking to Dawn on Sunday said: “We reject the BoG’s illegal decision and will challenge it,” asserting that the PBF acted appropriately in selecting Zohaib for the event and had issued the necessary NOC.

Nasir claimed that if Zohaib absconded, it was not the PBF’s fault, suggesting that the inquiry was biased and unfounded. He further emphasised that any such incidents are individual matters and should not reflect on the federation as a whole.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024