Chess Politics in Pakistan

When it comes to disfunctional chess federations, the USCF has plenty of company. Here's an interesting article about the Pakistan Chess Federation and the Sindh Chess Federation (a member federation of CFP). I'm happy to read that Pakistan selected teams for the Olympiad - I hope they raise enough money to actually get there! Sindh chess body media briefing turns sour Friday, November 07, 2008 By Syed Khalid Mahmood KARACHI: The media briefing of the Sindh Chess Association (SCA) meant to introduce the members of the national men and women squad for the 38th Chess Olympiad, to be held later this month in Dresden, Germany, turned sour on more than one count. The fiery speech of one of the officials, Mohammad Wasif, in which he openly ridiculed the policies of the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) caught the media by surprise because the SCA was itself one of the affiliated units of the federation. The men squad comprises National Masters Wahid Hussain (Hyderabad), Aamir Karim (Lahore), Mohammad Waqar (Karachi), Khalil-ur-Rahman Butt (Lahore) and Hasib Ahmed (Karachi). All the five members of the women team, Zenobia, Nida Shiraz, Sharjeela Kiran, Arsalana Tanvir and Sabica Shiraz, belong to Karachi. The SCA office-bearers could not give a convincing answer when questioned if the provincial body was sending the national men and women squad for the 38th Chess Olympiad on behalf of the federation. It was revealed that the SCA, after having failed to get any kind of assistance from the CFP, had approached various government and private organisations for financial support by means of sponsorship.“We have been assured financial support from the Government of Sindh, the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) as well as a few commercial establishments. Their support will enable us to cover a part of the costs to be incurred in sending the men and women squads for the Olympiad,” Mohammad Aslam, Secretary SCA, stated. He did not disclose the amount they were expected to raise for this event through sponsorship. Neither did he deem it proper to reveal the total amount needed to send the squads to Germany. When asked specifically, he said around Rupees one lac would be needed for each participant. Aslam, who is also the Vice President of the CFP, clarified that the SCA had differences with the federation only in the matter pertaining to the women squad while all was well as far as the selection of the men team was concerned. He added that the reigning national champion Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi, an International Master, had declared himself unavailable for the Olympiad due to personal reasons.