By Awais Saleem, IANS,
Islamabad : Muhammad Ali Shah, the chef de mission of Pakistani contingent at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, has apologised for causing a controversy on the issue of carrying the national flag at the inaugural ceremony.
Following the embarrassment caused by the incident flashed repeatedly on TV screens in Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had called for a detailed probe in the matter.
The initial inquiry report was submitted to Gilani here Wednesday.
“I did not know who should carry the flag,” the report quoted Shah as saying.
The controversy erupted when the Pakistani contingent taking part in the march-past at the colourful inaugural ceremony of the mega event in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium was led by Shah instead of weightlifter Shuja-ud-Din Malik.
The TV screen flashed the name of Shuja-ud-Din as the man carrying the flag for Pakistan but it was actually in the hands of Shah.
Shah was also seen pushing Shuja back as the contingent entered the stadium and the weightlifter tried to come in front when the commentators announced his name as the leader of the contingent.
This created a huge uproar in Pakistan and news channels repeatedly aired the footage of Shah, a minister in the Sindh provincial government, snubbing Malik.
The wrestler had clinched Pakistan’s solitary gold medal during the last commonwealth games in 2006 and was originally scheduled to carry the national flag this time round.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Sports spokesperson said that “the chef de mission has apologised and the matter is considered settled”.
It was earlier reported that proper action would be taken after the inquiry report.
President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hassan, had assured Malik after the controversy that “justice would prevail”.
Shuja and his coach Rashid Shaikh had accused Shah of snatching the flag from Shuja just before the ceremony and also threatening to send them back in case of non-compliance.
The weightlifting team had threatened to withdraw from the event if the chief de mission did not apologise. They only decided to get on with the Games after Hassan jumped in to resolve the deadlock and assured them of proper follow-up and action.
Secretary Sports Aziz Ahmad Bilour is believed to have proceeded to New Delhi to further investigate the matter and record statements of Hassan and Shah.
When contacted in India, Shah refused to talk to IANS on the issue.
He had earlier said: “I’ll not apologise because I have not done anything wrong.”