Punjab Chess Association President Hanif Qureshi, along with the officials of KP Chess Association, Balochistan Chess Association and Islamabad Chess Association, jointly welcomed the arrival of FIDE delegation to Pakistan under the leadership of its Vice President Dr Nigel Short.
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition.
Hanif Qureshi expressed concerns that the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP) wasted the opportunity of getting any support from FIDE by not cooperating with the delegation. Instead of welcoming the highest level delegation ever to visit Pakistan for scrutiny of CFP election, they actually avoided meeting the delegation as revealed by Dr. Nigel Short in an interview reported in the press. This violation of FIDE rules may result in a ban on Pakistan from international chess.
Mr. Qureshi revealed that the President CFP Senator Kulsoom Parveen has leveled allegations that were reported in the national press against her own chairman Abdul Salim and Secretary Waqar Madani, saying “They are involved in taking their friends and family on foreign tours disguised as the national chess team, and that an Indian citizen namely Bharat Singh Chuhan is running CFP affairs in Pakistan”. The officials of Punjab, KP and Balochistan chess associations demanded that the highly sensitive nature of the allegations by a member of parliament be investigated at the highest level.
