History repeats itself; PBSA directed to do away with chairman

By Syed Khalid Mahmood 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The promulgation of the National Sports Policy by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in 2008 had brought to an end the 20-year-old tenure of Ali Asghar Valika as President of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA). 

Now history is on verge of repeating itself as Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, the gentleman having succeeded Asghar Valika in 2008, seems set to lose his position as chairman of the PBSA following a recent PSB ruling, notified on July 25. 

“The highest position in the Federation shall be that of the President. No other title or designation such as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or any equivalent shall exist within the Federation,” according to the article 6 of the rules, called National Sports Federations (Tenure) Rules, 2025. 

The PBSA now seems to be left with no other option than to do away with its current chairman, Alamgir Shaikh, who stands disqualified for holding any office in the body which he headed as its President for eight years, from 2008 to 2016. 

It remains to be seen if Almagir Shaikh, who has faced numerous controversies of different kinds in the past, chooses to withdraw from the chairmanship voluntarily or the saner elements in the PBSA persuade him to quit the body to save it from further embarrassment and possible governmental action. 

The onus will be on the PBSA movers and shakers to act swiftly for the sake of the future of cue sports in the country. They should not be losing sight of the fact that the PBSA was banned by the PSB in 2008 and it was reinstated only after a change of guard. 

If the PBSA leadership had swallowed the bitter pill in September 2008 in the larger interest of cue sports, there appears no reason why they could not make another sacrifice of sorts. 

When Asghar Valika, credited to have revived snooker, could leave the Association, Alamgir Shaikh could do the same quietly. It will not be out of context to mention here that following his retirement as President at the behest of the PSB, the PBSA had unanimously elected Asghar Valika as its life chairman in view of his services to cue sports in general and snooker in particular. 

Constitutionally, the chairman was just a ceremonial post with President, being the leader of the house. A couple of tenures of four years each of Alamgir Shaikh was followed by that of Munawwar Hussain Shaikh from 2016 to 2020. 

Jawed Karim was elected as the PBSA President in 2020. One of the most hotly debated decisions in his tenure was the sidelining of Asghar Valika from chairmanship which was believed to be manipulated by Alamgir Shaikh to get himself in the driving seat sometime in 2021. This created bad taste within the ranks of the PBSA Managing Committee, the majority of whom did not favour the sacking of Asghar Valika. 

Now, with the sword of the National Sports Policy hanging, the time has come for Alamgir Shaikh to take a forced break from the PBSA. It may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan snooker.

The PBSA has to make a decision, the sooner the better. It remains to be seen if its office-bearers will adopt a proactive approach or will they prefer playing safe by letting the enigmatic Alamgir Shaikh to make the decision himself. 

While he has made every conceivable move to perpetuate his rule within the PBSA by inducting his own family members and buddies in the new set-up which came to the fore in the last elections in 2024, the road may still be bumpy for him if the elder statesmen express their unwillingness to support Alamgir Shaikh despite the PSB advice. 

There was a time in the past when he enjoyed most cordial of relationships at the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), which takes care of the sports affairs at the national level, besides the PSB. By the look of things, he seems to have lost favour at Islamabad too which means his days at the PBSA might be over sooner than later.

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Golden era of Pakistan snooker ends with Alamgir Shaikh’s tenure

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, having completed a couple of successful four-year tenures as the President of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), will not taking part in the upcoming elections of the national body due to take place on December 28.

In accordance with the National Sports Policy, which restrains any official from retaining the same slot for more than eight years, Alamgir Shaikh has not filed nomination for the quadrennial elections. 

The PBSA, which is affiliated to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), has been hailed as one of the best performing sports federations of the country over the years, having produced positive results on a more consistent basis than any other sport, besides cricket. 

The game of snooker, it may be recalled, was revived in a big way in 1988 when Ali Asghar Valika took up its leadership and went from strength to strength. 

He not only changed the nomenclature of the governing body of cue sports from the Billiards Association of Pakistan (BAP), which was dormant for the preceding decades, to the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) but brought about a revolution which witnessed phenomenal growth for snooker in particular all over the country. 

In a matter of years, Pakistan came to be recognized as one of the major snooker nations, enabling it to be a preferential venue for global and continental events. 

Asghar Valika, whose administrative and organizational qualities earned him worldwide acclaim, quit the leadership of the PBSA in 2008, ironically to fulfill the obligations of the National Sports Policy. 

His successor, Alamgir Shaikh, having worked with him for a long time in his team, sustained the momentum and built a stronger platform for cue sports during the next eight years which witnessed more activities at national and international levels. 

Once again it’s the National Sports Policy, prompting another change of guard in the PBSA. The newly elected President, however, will be hard pressed to emulate the accomplishments of his last couple of predecessors, Asghar Valika and Alamgir Shaikh, both of whom are credited to have taken cue sports to very high level.

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