The Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination has announced that it has recommended lifetime bans for the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) President and Pakistan Olympic Association Secretary General Khalid Mahmood and PBF Secretary General Col. (r) Nasir Ijaz Tung as a result of an investigation by an inquiry committee headed up by IPC senior member Ashfaq Ahmed Malik which was set up in lieu of an incident where a boxer named Zohaib Rasheed went missing in Italy during the qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics in March this year.
The committee has recommended in no uncertain terms that the two officials are not to be considered for holding office in any national sporting body in the future, as well as ordering the recovery of an amount of One Million Rupees.
In addition, it has been stated that since “prima facie, the case involves human trafficking”, the matter may be referred to the Federal Investigation Agency after consultation from the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Sports Board.
The report by the committee further adds that the unfortunate incident not only tarnished Pakistan’s international image but also has led to genuine issues for Pakistanis, athletes, and regular folk alike, who may have intended to go overseas.
The missing boxer as well as the rest of the contingent was also in Italy without obtaining a mandatory NOC from the concerned authorities, the report reads. The Inquiry Committee has suggested that the report be presented at the next PSB Board of Governors meeting as a regular agenda item.
This recent incident isn’t the first time a boxer has gone missing during an event either, with two other Pakistani boxers doing the same after the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. In that case however, the matter was not investigated whatsoever.
In response, PBF Secretary General Col. (r) Nasir Ijaz Tung has slammed the report as completely baseless. He stated that Zohaib Rasheed was selected due to him being a medal hopeful, and that they had requested the PSB for a training camp to be arranged for the boxers but were denied.
He further stated that he would challenge the report in court of law, deeming that the inquiry committee did not possess the power to impose bans on officials of national sports bodies. On the NOC issue, he mentioned that they had to get an NOC from the Navy in the case of Zohaib, since the Navy is Zohaib’s department.
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