Bashir Hussain Azad
CHITRAL: Members of civil society and young polo players in Lower Chitral have condemned the selection process for the teams representing Chitral in the upcoming Shandur Polo Festival, terming it a blatant violation of merit, full of irregularities and nepotism.
They have announced a protest both in Chitral and at the Shandur, giving the government a 24-hour ultimatum to address their concerns.
Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, young polo players Hayat Hussain, Muheebur Rehman, Tanveer Shehzad, Masroor Elahi, Abdul Qadir alias Metar and Zafarullah Khan Jamali expressed their outrage over the last-minute changes in the team lineup.
They alleged that the deputy commissioner Lower Chitral, under pressure from influential figures, removed skilled players Tanveer Shehzad and Masroor Elahi from the previously notified team and released a new list based on personal preference.
According to them, this move is not only unjust but also in clear violation of the standard code of conduct. As per the rules of the Polo Association, only those players who reach the quarter-finals of the pre-Shandur Polo Tournament are eligible for selection.
However, the revised list includes three players from the same household who were eliminated in the third round, while deserving finalists like Abdul Rahim, who scored two goals in the final, were excluded.
Other sidelined players despite strong performances include Islam Nabi, Tariq Hussain, and Awaz Ali, all of whom reached at least the quarter-finals.
They questioned the credibility of the selection committee itself, pointing out that Sher Afqanul Mulk, one of the committee members, is a football player with no background in polo, and Hakim of Drosh, another member, also has no connection to the sport.
The remaining three members – Nasir of Reshun, Muhammad Azam of Kosht, and Haidari of Booni – were absent during the selection meeting, rendering the committee\’s decisions controversial and unacceptable.
The speakers demanded the immediate cancellation of the current team list, calling it the product of a \”crippled\” and biased selection process. They held the Polo Association responsible for the irregularities and called for the formation of a new, democratically elected association through player voting. They also urged the creation of a separate Polo Association for Upper Chitral.
Expressing disappointment, they highlighted the imbalance in player representation, noting that 28 civilian players were selected from Upper Chitral, while only 12 were picked from Lower Chitral, a disparity they labeled as blatant injustice.