ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), the regulatory authority for sports in the country, has made it mandatory for all the national sports federations to follow its regulations in order to avail the grant for year 2012-13, Dawn learnt on Friday.

`We have written letters to all the national sports federations to follow the National Sports Policy 2005 in letter and spirit otherwise there will be no grants issued to them because we are regulating the national sports mainly to promote the Olympic Games at the grass-roots level,` PSB Director General Amir Hamza Gilani told Dawn on Friday.

The National Sports Policy 2005 also includes the contentious clause of tenure restriction of the officebearers of national sports federations which bars them from holding office for a third consecutive term.

In a copy of minutes shared by a senior official of the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination with Dawn, the sports board stated: `The Finance Committee allocated annual and special grants to the national sports fed-erations for the financial year 2012-13 without exception. However, it has been decided to release annual and special grants to those national sports organisations who would assure in writing that they supported the National Sports Policy 2005.

A ministry of finance official maintained that PSB had allocated Rs47.73 million to 39 national sports federation for the year 2012-13. He informed that around Rs11.22 million have been released by the sports board up toFeb2013.

`We have to release the rest of the grants to the federations by the end of the financial year ending on June 30 this year,` said the finance division official.

Meanwhile, PSB chief Gilani added: `We have also directed the national sports federation to amend their constitution with respect to National Sports Policy 2005 and refuse entertaining those officials who have already completed their two terms at any position.

A former federal secretary of the ministry of sports, which is now renamed as Ministry of IPC, toldDawn: `This step should have been taken by PSB around 2008. Although it is quite late now but still the initiative is appreciable.

Former secretary Khan said that the PSB had all the right to give directions to the sports federations relating to implementation of any national sport guideline for the promotion and development of the sports because the government is funding the federations for the last five decades.

Mr Khan further said that before asking the federations for amending their constitution, the Auditor General of Pakistan should conduct audit of national sports federations.

`As per the law, any institution which has the seed funding from the government is bound to have an audit done by the AGP,` he said.

He added that the SDO 1962 said that it was the responsibility of the federation to promote sports at all levels.

`The initiative will help in promotion of Olympic Games and Olympic charter across Pakistan, he maintained.