Taking to media he said that he held key meetings with Corps Commander Peshawar, PA Khyber Captain Khalid Mehmood (Retd) and President Fata Olympic Association (FOA) Shahid Khan Shinwari and discussed in detail steps taken in bringing the talented youth of Fata to the Olympic games so that these neglected youth could avail the chance to show their hidden sports talent at national and international levels and join the mainstream.
"We want to help tribal youth who were traumatized and had been mostly confined to their homes due to insurgency and militancy," he said, adding, "the Corps Commander Peshawar, Khalid Mehmood and Shahid Khan are endeavoring hard for promoting sports activities."
"I have assured them that POA considered FOA as a key unit and whatever the Fata youth needs with regard to sports would be provided to them positively," he added.
"I have proposed construction of a full shooting range, swimming pools in all agencies, and development of a modern day Sports Complex in Jamrud, Khyber Agency besides ensuring due facilities to the tribal youth in the games like football, wrestling, and martial arts that could offer them good opportunity in making their mark in sports," he said.
He said Army is also currently engaged in the rehabilitation work and with that different Stadiums would also be developed to facilitate the youth in healthy sports activities.
"I have a detailed meeting with PA Khyber along with Shahid Khan Shinwari and hopefully things would go in right direction," he said. Giving affiliation to FOA by the POA in way back June 2011, mean to have more sports activities of various games, he added.
He said PA Khyber had a very good shooting contest last year and preparation is under way for another such championship in which national and international shooters from all across Pakistan would take part.
"I have been told that they have developed a shooting range in Jamrud Khyber Agency and still want to upgrade the same so that along with skeet shooting, air-rifle, air pistol and 9MM air shooting could be organized inside FATA," he said.
Arif Hussain said he would talk with the office-bearers of the National Rifle Shooting Association (NRA) so that they could come up and ensure due facilities for the talented youth of Fata. He said that the forthcoming 4th Inter-Provincial Games will be organized in Peshawar in March this year. He also appreciated KP Govt for announcing approval of grant for the Games besides holding Under-23 Games for the third time wherein more than 11000 athletes would take part in male and female Games.
About Commonwealth Games in Australia, he said due to non-serious approach towards these important events we are not hopeful of achieving desired result. "We have to think more seriously about such a big event rather than assembling a team in a week or a month's time. Countries who won medals in these games had a long term planning prior to the event, not like Pakistan's random selection and short term planning," he said. In the Gold Coast Games, an 89-member contingent of Pakistan will feature in ten disciplines, which are hockey, athletics, swimming, squash, table tennis, badminton, shooting, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling.