Islamabad
Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza has asked all the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to encourage sports activities in their areas to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.
The minister on Tuesday wrote a letter to sports ministers of all the administrative units, extending a warm gratitude for the successful conclusion of the first Sports Coordination Committee Meeting in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic through Video Conference.
“We have developed consensus for devising uniform laws, Provincial/National Sport Policy and make comprehensive strategy for resumption of sports activities in the post COVID-19 Scenario to mitigate problems of sports fraternity,” she wrote in the letter. Dr Fehmida also gave suggestions to the sports ministers to encourage sports participation from an early age. “Provincial governments should promote active and healthy lifestyle in the society. They should enforce laws to make it obligatory for all new or ongoing real estate projects to have gym facilities and play grounds in building premises. New housing scheme societies should have provision for sports facilities\playing grounds,” she said.
The minister said the provincial governments should make it mandatory for schools and educational institutions to have sports facilities and arrange mandatory sports periods. “After devising proper curriculum at all levels, sports activities were essentially required inside the prisons, especially the juvenile detention centers,” she said.
She said our focus should be on establishing small sports facilities and playgrounds for cricket, volleyball and other disciplines at the tehsil level to develop sports culture. “Our athletes and coaches should be supported,” she said.
She said she was looking forward for recommendations for uniform sports policy, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for reopening sports facilities, possibly after Eid-ul-Azha with other suggestions to promote sports in the country.—APP
