President Pakistan Olympic Association steps down from the post after 19 years

President Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Lieutenant General (R) Arif Hasan resigned on Saturday.

Lieutenant General (R) Arif Hasan has stepped down from the post after 19 years citing bad health.

Lieutenant General (R) Arif Hasan confirmed his decision in a conversation with Geo News.

He has said in the text of the letter that he is leaving the post of POA due to ill health and will be separated from POA on January 1, 2024.

Lieutenant General (R) Arif Hasan was first elected as the President of POA in March 2004 and after that, he was elected five consecutive times.

It should be noted that former Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal demanded a change in the Pakistan Olympics Association after the poor performance in the Asian Games.

Ahsan Iqbal in a statement posted on X-platform on Oct 10, 2023, said, “Will Lt Gen (Retd) Arif Hasan be kind enough to explain to the nation the following chart since he has been at the helm of Pakistan Olympics Association since 2004 and since then been managing to get himself re-elected through all kinds of means. He refused to accept the term limit endorsed by SC.”

“This chart speaks for the disasters his tenures have inflicted on Pakistani sports. I request COAS to intervene in this matter because he considers himself not answerable to any authority in Pakistan and has ruined the sports in Pakistan. A shake-up at the Pakistan Olympics Association is urgently needed. No more humiliation acceptable,” he added.