ISLAMABAD: Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General (DG),Yasir Pirzada, revealed that out of the total 44 sports’ federations in Pakistan, only nine have had their accounts audited.
He said that this raises serious concerns about compliance with legal and financial accountability standards.
Chairman of the committee Sanaullah Mastikhel criticised the sports federations for disrespecting the law and rules, emphasising that no federation is currently workin gas per its constitution.
He, however, proposed conducting a thorough audit of the funds allocated to the sports federations. The committee also specifically raised concerns about the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), for its ambiguous constitution, failure to hold elections, and lack of an elected governing body.
The IPC Committee warned that if satisfactory answers were not furnished before the committee, it will escalate the matter by writing directly to FIFA.
The committee has also sought detailed funding records and instructed the PSB to scrutinise PFF accounts. The committee also informed about the alarming irregularities including reports that elections were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the absence of district-level organisations in 14 districts, highlighting that there is no operational setup in Balochistan. Additionally, employees of the PFF Balochistan office have reportedly not received salaries since August last year.
The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the inadequate preparation of the management in delivering a comprehensive presentation on the agenda concerning the recent elections conducted by the PFF at the federal, provincial, and district levels. The committee directed the PFF to provide a more thorough and well-prepared briefing on the agenda within 15 days. Additionally, the committee instructed the PFF and the PSB to ensure the briefing/ working papers are submitted at least three days prior to the next committee meeting.
The committee directed the PFF to include details in the next briefing regarding the eligibility of voters for the election, decisions on appeals by individuals or bodies banned by the PFF during the elections, and the orders of the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, the committee instructed the representative of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) to convey its directive to the PKF president, ensuring his presence at the next meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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