Suffering for want of fair play… Hameed Ul Haq

The PTF elections, held on February 10 for the post of President, Secretary and Treasurer were tainted by a strong controversy right from the start due to a questioned vote. The elections were held, after an inordinate delay of over a year beyond expiry of term of the incumbent Federation which desired to prolong its stay for as long as possible.
The elections featured two panels, one led by Major General (retd) Asghar Nawaz and another by Aisam-ul-Haq. The election yielded a split result with the Generals panel winning two important slots of Secretary General and Treasurer while Aisam-ul-Haq could barely secure the slot of President with the narrow margin of one vote, which is considered disputed. Chief Election Commissioner Shakeel Durrani, former WAPDA Chairman, presided over the election process and faced a predicament when a candidate raised a serious objection challenging eligibility of the vote of International Lawn Tennis Club (ILTC) Pakistan, an associate member unit of PTF. The objections were raised in the light of PTF Constitution and it was pointed out that ILTC having defaulted on payment of dues of PTF for the last five years falls into the status of expelled member and hence loses the right to vote. The more serious amongst the objections pertained to violation of Article 21-A of the federations constitution, according to which only the President of an associate member of PTF or his authorised representative can cast vote. The President of ILTC had passed away in March 2021, and with no President elected, an aged Secretary of ILTC who has been bed-ridden for long authorised, illegally, a representative to cast vote in the elections in a flagrant violation of the PTF constitution.
The Chief Election Commissioner, after duly acknowledging the objections to be of genuine nature, allowed elections process to be continued with the proviso that the objections would later be addressed through established rules and fora, as per the PTF constitution, in a specially convened General Meeting of PTF Council, within 10 days. He made it clear that the voting results may alter or elections may be held again if the contested vote is found illegal as per the PTF constitution.
Another surprising aspect was that observer representative of POA, the parent body of countrys sports federations, was kept out of the crucial first phase of the election process when these objections were discussed with the Chief Election Commissioner. The vote of ILTC assumes significance because it openly nominated and expressed its support for the panel led by Aisam-ul-Haq and if the vote gets void, besides embarrassment caused, the votes for President PTF will become equal and a tie will occur. The PTFs outgoing management, with an obvious bias, has also tried to give a twist to the matter by incorrect recording of Chief Election Commissioners decisions in the Minutes of Elections, issued on 17 February, 2024, which has been promptly noticed by all stakeholders.
Considering the past performance of the previous PTF set-up where no fresh crop of internationally competitive players was prepared resulting in a 4-0 drubbing in the Davis Cup tie at the hands of India in Islamabad, there is a requirement that fairness, professionalism and merit is promoted in the tennis affairs. The holding of elections marred with illegalities and controversies bodes ill for the future of the game in the country. Pakistan Olympics Association and other stakeholders must step in to ensure that the elections process of PTF is subjected to fair play, legality and fairness, in the absence of which the entire edifice of the tennis promotion and player development will remain elusive.

Courtesy The Express Tribune