Foreign Office to Decide Whether Pakistan Will Host South Asian Games or Not

A meeting regarding the hosting of the 14th edition of the South Asian Games was held by the steering committee on Wednesday where the committee decided to consult the Foreign Office over the decision of hosting the event.
Pakistan’s government has been unable to decide whether they want to host the event or not considering the potential expenditures.

However, hosting the event will help showcase a softer image of Pakistan in the world and can also strengthen regional relations with other countries with the help of sports diplomacy.

The meeting was chaired by the caretaker minister for planning Muhammad Sami Saeed, and was attended by various heads of other government sports bodies and departments including DG of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Shoaib Khoso, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Fawad Hassan Fawad, President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Syed Mohammad Abid Qadri, Secretary POA Mohammad Khalid Mehmood.

“We have decided to consult the Foreign Office for guidance and implications involved in hosting the 14th edition of the Games. The regional relations are one aspect while the other relates to the importance of the event for the international reputation of the country,” an official said.

The official who attended the steering committee meeting added, “One thing is certain; Pakistan will not be in a position to host the event within the next few months meaning the Games could be postponed for another year.”

Pakistan was supposed to host the South Asian Games in 2021 but an unprecedented delay followed as COVID-19 struck with another wave in addition to the government’s incompetency.

There is no clarity on whether the Foreign Office will give the green light to host the games in March. So far it seems that the games will be postponed for another year after the Pakistan Olympic Association directed the games to be held in March 2024 last year.

Around 5,000 athletes will participate in these games and POA decided to set up a separate budget of Rs. 9 billion earlier to host the games in Pakistan.

Out of this 3 billion was allocated in the budget for the development and renovation of infrastructure and 6 billion was to cater logistics of athletes and hosting of the games.

If Pakistan’s Foreign Office does not give the go-ahead, Sri Lanka will jump in and take the rights away as all the member nations of South Asia will pressure Pakistan to either host the games this year or give up their hosting rights to a country that can host the mega event and has better infrastructure.