We are ready to cooperate with probe panel: AFI

Under fire after the doping scandal that rocked the country, the Athletics Federation of India on Wednesday said that it is ready to cooperate with the probe panel.

New Delhi: Under fire after the doping scandal that rocked the country, the Athletics Federation of

India today said that it is ready to cooperate with the probe panel set up by the sports ministry and help in getting to the bottom of the menace. The AFI came under severe criticism after eight athletes, including Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji and her gold medal winning 4x400 relay team-mates Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose, flunked dope tests for anabolic steroids and it said it agreed to the "six point" decision taken by Sports Minister Ajay Maken after the scandal. "The federation is ready to fully cooperate with the probe panel set up by the Sports Minister to go into the bottom of the scandal. We fully agree to the six point decision taken by the minister," AFI Director M L Dogra said. Dogra said the AFI is yet to get any written intimation from the sports minister to submit a report on the scandal but said the federation will comply after getting such an official communication. "Yesterday, I heard the minister saying so in the press conference but we have not got any official communication. May be we will get it after the probe panel members and its head are announced. We will comply with and send a report to the minister after getting official communication," he said. "We have also instituted our internal inquiry on the doping episode. The three-member committee will submit preliminary report within a month and final report within three months," he said. The Pakistan Premier spoke about the country`s relations with its neighbours and a wide range of issues, including the war on terrorism, during his address at the "de-radicalisation seminar" organised by the military to discuss ways to wean people away from militancy and extremism. Referring to the South Asian region, Gilani said Pakistan is committed to "working in unison with all neighbours for establishment of peace and elimination of terrorism". A "stable united, friendly and peaceful Afghanistan" is in Pakistan`s best interest, he said. "Pakistan wants an independent and sovereign Afghanistan without any external influence," he remarked. In recent months, Pakistan has been jockeying for a greater role in negotiations with the Afghan Taliban as the US begins the process of withdrawing its troops from neighbouring war-torn country. Within Pakistan, Gilani said, his government`s counter-terrorism strategy was "home-grown and indigenous in character". The strategy comprises four Ds, dialogue, deterrence, development and defeating the terrorists` ideology and mindset, he said. "The government galvanised public support against terrorism and gave political ownership to the national struggle against terrorism," he said. Law enforcement operations conducted by Pakistani security forces were a "success story" that is being emulated in Afghanistan, he claimed. PTI