KARACHI: Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) President Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah on Saturday said that they were open to hold a discussion with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to resolve their issues, months after soccer’s global governing body suspended the PFF due to third-party interference.
In April, FIFA suspended the PFF after a group of officials led by Shah, which was elected by the Pakistani Supreme Court in 2018 to run the PFF but was not recognized by FIFA, took over the Pakistan football headquarters and seized control from the FIFA Normalization Committee (NC), headed by Haroon Malik.
At the time, Shah told Reuters that the NC had not conducted elections for the body in the 18 months since it took charge. FIFA said its decision to suspend the PFF was prompted by the “hostile takeover,” which constituted a serious violation of its statutes.
However, the PFF chief says they respect the global soccer body and want to resolve their issues through dialogue.
“You know, we are open to discussion. FIFA should send a representative or a delegation or they should invite us for a dialogue. We are always open to discussion and want to resolve the matter,” Shah told English-language newspaper The News.
“You know we had handed over the headquarters and accounts to [the] FIFA-appointed Normalization Committee and the world body’s official Alex Gross was witness to that. We had fully supported and respected FIFA and its NC but unfortunately, the NC left us disappointed by doing nothing toward elections despite spending a long time in office.”
He said they had written several letters to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), but to no avail. “We shared with them audio recordings and evidence of corruption and manipulation of elections, but they did not respond and it’s unfortunate.”
The Pakistan football chief said they believed in negotiations, but could not trust the present NC as it had “deceived” them several times.
“Look, we are even ready to sit with the current NC, but they don’t have the courage to meet us. Haroon Malik never tried to sit with us and negotiate the matter. NC’s members are happy to get huge packages without doing anything,” the report quoted him as saying.
“We have submitted our election mechanism with the government, but we have not yet been contacted by anyone. We want fair and transparent elections and are even ready to hand over NC a complete portion in the Football House in Lahore if the government gives us a guarantee.”
Maintaining he was serving the game in Pakistan, Shah said: “If I am not required, I will go. You know I have no vested interests and am doing my job honestly for the betterment of football. We are holding the Premier League and will keep making efforts for football development.”
Asked about a recent news conference held by another group in Lahore asking them to vacate the headquarters by November 10, Shah said, “Let them do it. They cannot do anything through such threats. Who were the people present in the news conference? You know that. They are opportunists, jumping from one group to another.”
In response to the conditions of Shah’s group, the NC said a few days ago that the group would have to unconditionally hand over the PFF headquarters to it.
“Why do these people want the Football House,” Shah asked. “It means they want something different and are not going to hold elections. Haroon had focused on events rather than doing anything toward holding elections.”
Shah’s group, which formed the PFF in December 2018 under a Supreme Court order, had handed over the headquarters and accounts to NC in September 2019, the report said. However, the NC, under Humza Khan, failed to do anything toward elections despite a long time in office.
The NC was then reconstituted and Canada-based Haroon was brought in as its chairman, but he also did not take any step toward holding elections.
Shah’s group re-assumed control of the PFF headquarters in March this year. Consequently, in the first week of April, FIFA had suspended the PFF, saying that the suspension would be lifted only after its NC regains control of the headquarters and accounts.
Pakistan’s Inter Provincial Coordination Minister Dr. Fehmida Mirza has held long discussions with all parties, but so far her efforts have not borne any fruit.
Pakistan Football Federation seeks dialogue with FIFA months after suspension from global body
https://arab.news/5p4z4
Pakistan Football Federation seeks dialogue with FIFA months after suspension from global body
- In April FIFA suspended PFF after a group of Pakistani officials seized control of headquarters from its Normalization Committee
- Ashfq Hussain Shah, whose group seized control, was elected by Supreme Court in 2018 to run PFF but was not recognized by FIFA
Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir in spotlight over Trump’s Gaza plan
- Sources say Munir is expected to visit Washington in the coming weeks for talks with the US president on Gaza
- Any Pakistani troop role in Gaza could trigger backlash from pro-Palestine, anti-US groups at home, analysts say
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most powerful military chief in decades faces the toughest test of his newly amassed powers as Washington pushes Islamabad to contribute troops to the Gaza stabilization force, a move analysts say could spark domestic backlash.
Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of Israeli military bombardment.
Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli populations.
But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch — the first time a US president hosted Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
“Not contributing (to the Gaza stabilization force) could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.
‘PRESSURE TO DELIVER’
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times and a brief conflict this summer. It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with militants who it says are operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military strength means “there is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity,” said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
Pakistan’s military, foreign office and information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping but disarming Hamas “is not our job.”
UNPRECEDENTED POWER
Munir was earlier this month anointed chief of the defense forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.
He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistan’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.
“Few people in Pakistan enjoy the luxury of being able to take risks more than Munir. He has unbridled power, now constitutionally protected,” Kugelman added.
“Ultimately, it will be Munir’s rules, and his rules only.”
THE HOME FRONT RISK
Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.
But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pakistan troops in Gaza under a US-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistan’s religio-political parties that are deeply opposed to the US and Israel.
These parties have street power to mobilize thousands. A powerful and violent anti-Israel party that fights for upholding Pakistan’s ultra-strict blasphemy laws was banned in October.
Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said.
While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.
The party of former jailed premier, Imran Khan, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and has wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.
Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said if things escalated once the Gaza force was on the ground, it would cause problems quickly.
“People will say ‘Asim Munir is doing Israel’s bidding’ — it will be foolhardy of anyone not to see it coming.”
