Qureshi shrugs off Pak govt threat

Pakistani tennis player Aisum-ul-Haq Qureshi laughed off his government's threats to investigate his pairing with Israel's Amir Hadad at the Wimbledon championships.

Reacting to news that Sports Minister S.K Tressler would look into the politically contentious pairing that reached the third round, Qureshi said: "I think if they (Pakistan) want to qualify for group one (Davis Cup) then I'll have to play. I'll be there to play. It's going to be okay," Qureshi said after he and Hadad lost 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 to seventh seeds Martin Damm and Cyril Suk of the Czech Republic.

"I don't know what's happening. No-one has contacted me at all.

"Some people have said positive things. Some people have said negative things. But I think it's going to be okay. I have a good relationship with them."

Qureshi's pairing with Hadad has drawn sharp reaction from the Pakistan Sports Board which has threatened to ban the player.

"The government will definitely approach this issue. As we don't have diplomatic relations with Israel, we don't recognise it," Tressler had said earlier.

"But it would be premature to say what we can do. All I can say is that Aisam's decision to play with an Israeli was not morally correct."

Qureshi, 22, has been Pakistan's best player for the last two years, playing a key role in their recent Davis Cup semi-final win over Taiwan in the Asia Oceania group 11.

MIXING POLITICS

Tressler said Pakistan did not believe in mixing sport with politics and for that reason it supported sporting ties with arch-rivals India.

But he added that Israel was a sensitive issue for Pakistan.

"Aisam should have been careful, because no Pakistani will accept any relations with an Israeli," Tressler said.

"But we have to see a lot of things, the circumstances surrounding Aisam's decision to team up with the Israeli, that he is playing there in his personal capacity and he can play anywhere," he said.

The minister acknowledged it was an honour that a Pakistani had qualified for the Wimbledon third round and said maybe Qureshi did not have any other option available to him.

Tressler said there was no rule or condition in Pakistani sports about relations with Israel when it came to individual sports.

"When Aisam returns to Pakistan we will approach this issue and see what can be done."