ISLAMABAD: Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi on Friday informed the National Assembly that the incumbent government was considering restoring departmental sports in the country aimed at encouraging young talent and preparing them for national and international events.
Responding to queries during question hour in the National Assembly, he said it was unfortunate that the previous government had stopped departmental sports that hampered the activities of talent hunt for different disciplines.
Citing the financial sufferings of sportsmen, the minister said the Captain of the Pakistan Hockey team refused to participate in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022, being held in the United Kingdom, as he was unable to meet his household expenses, during his stay abroad.
Murtaza Javed also stressed the need for establishing modern academies and holding training camps at the grassroots level to promote sports activities, especially hockey and squash. “There is a dire need of reorganizing sports activities in the country by resolving all the confronted challenges”.
Later, Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf deferred the question, raised by Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal Pakistan (MMAP), due to important supplementary questions and the non-availability of Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsaan-Ur-Rehman Mazari, for getting detailed replay in next sitting.