Islamabad, Sept. 23 :    Islamabad, Sept. 23:  Another casualty of the recent crisis in the region were the ninth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, scheduled for October 6-15. They have now been put off indefinitely. New dates will be announced at a special executive committee meeting of South Asian Sports Federation. 'The SAF Games are postponed because some foreign technical delegates had decided not to come to Pakistan as per travel advisories issued by their respective embassies here,' the chairman of SAF Games Organising Committee, Maj. Gen. Syed Arif Hasan, told a hurriedly called press conference. 'The Games' international status would have been affected in the absence of foreign technical delegates,' Arif said. 'There is no use in holding the Games with suspect international status.' Earlier, sports minister Col. (Retd) S. K. Tressler formally announced the postponement of the Games featuring the seven South Asian countries. Pakistan Olympic Association secretary Md Latif Butt was also present. 'The executive meeting of SASF will be called as quickly as possible,' Gen. Arif Hasan said, adding that the likely date will be in February-March. 'However, this depends on decisions of SASF meeting and how the situation turns out by that time,' he said. He announced that a 'skeleton staff' of the SAF Games secretariat will continue functioning in the interim period while the training of athletes will also be in progress. Basics to remain He said he will talk to the sponsors tomorrow and reassure them about holding of the Games. 'The SAF Games quiz programmes, websites, SAF radio and raffle schemes will also continue,' he said. On possible financial losses, he said some loss will be incurred but 'but the major investment had been in infrastructure development, which will be of advantage in the coming years.' Gen. Arif Hasan said he had talked to the high commissioners of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh overnight before reaching the decision of postponement. He also said that there was no instruction from the from the government about postponing the Games. sports minister Tressler had said that the decision to postpone Games and SAF-Karakoram Car Rally had been taken in the national interest and 'with reluctance.'