Pakistan can soon join Olympic-banned India as International Olympic Committee (IOC) is likely to take a final decision today (Friday) in its special meeting to be held in Swiss capital, Lausanne.

POA president Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hassan left for Switzerland from Lahore while the government has already refused to send its representative for the crucial meeting. “Government of Pakistan is not answerable to IOC on the matter of National Sports Policy,” Joint Secretary for Ministry of IPC Abdul Ghaffar Khan told The Nation.

“Sports Policy has been approved by the cabinet and Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered its implementation so there was no reason to go to Lausanne to clarify our stance,” he said and added: “We respect IOC laws but we are bound to implement the ‘laws of the land’ also and I don’t see any reason to ban Pakistan for the international participation.” To a query in case of expected ban, the joint secretary held those responsible who do not want to implement the Sports Policy and thus bringing bad name to their homeland.

IOC’s representative in Pakistan Shahid Ali Shah is already in Lausanne for the important meeting. “We were never contacted by the IOC’s representative to consult about this matter but yes, we do receive the IOC invitation for the meeting but we are not going to attend it,” Ghaffar said.

Meanwhile, IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters in Lausanne that IOC might soon consider a suspension as a protective measure. He said the POA and the country's government had been invited to the IOC's headquarters to discuss a domestic dispute over the sports body's independence. "The government of Pakistan has ignored the invitation," Adams said.

The POA claimed the government had been interfering with the administration of the POA in a dispute that has been simmering for months. The IOC banned India in December last year over government interference in elections of the Indian Olympic Association.

An Olympic ban means an effective end to funding from the IOC to the national Olympic association. No officials of that association can attend Olympic meetings and athletes of a banned nation cannot compete at the Games under their country's flag. POA chief Arif at different occasion made it clear that POA will not implement the Sports Policy as it restricts him and few other officials of the different sports federations to hold the third term in office.