In a letter sent to Pere Miró, the IOC’s deputy director general for relations with the Olympic Movement, Hanif claimed the A-NOC is "really surprised" that its General Assembly decision to elect him as acting President - taken in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat on the sidelines of the 2015 OCA General Assembly - has so far been ignored. 

Archery, basketball, buzkashi, canoeing and rowing and chess back Hanif.

But Zahir Aghbar is being backed as A-NOC President by the IOC and OCA.

"As General Aghbar's election was with violation of the AFG-NOC statutes and the National Federations’ right to participate in AFG-NOC General Assemblies, the Olympic Movement in Afghanistan got worse when General Aghbar started creating parallel federations for the ones which didn’t support him in his election," he wrote in the letter, seen by insidethegames.

"However, with due to respect to the decision taken in Turkmenistan (Sideline of OCA Session 2015) and the consequences of General Aghbar’s election till Rio 2016, the legitimate AFG-NOC General Assembly was called by the members and they elected Mr. Mahmod Hanif as the caretaker of the AFG-NOC to do the necessary preparation for a transparent election after Rio 2016."

It is claimed in the letter that the A-NOC communicated the General Assembly’s decision "many times" to the IOC and OCA.

A timeline states that three letters were sent last year to the IOC and OCA via mail and e-mail, dated August 21, August 31 and September 5.

The latter is said to have been accompanied by a "verbal testimonial of the National Federations". 

Hanif wrote: "The members of the General Assembly of AFG-NOC are frustrated with the silent mode of the IOC and the OCA.

"It is worth mentioning that the Olympic Movement in Afghanistan is facing a number of issues to preserve its autonomy, due to the silent mode of the IOC and the OCA."

In January of last year, insidethegames was told there is no evidence to back-up claims the Afghanistan Government is supporting Mohammad Fahim Hashimy over Aghbar as President of the war-torn country's NOC.

Hashimy, who replaced Aghbar as President in 2014, had resigned days before the vote in Ashgabat as conflict escalated.

He slammed the election of Aghbar as illegal and void.

Those present were "not legitimate" representatives of the National Federations, he claimed, adding that statutory obligations to wait 21 days after a resignation to have an election were not met.

A letter was sent by Hashimy’s allies to both the IOC and OCA on December 30 in 2015 claiming that a Commission set-up by the country's President Ashraf Ghani had ruled him the rightful head.

"After the research and survey of the Afghanistan Government, they have declared that Mohammad Fahim Hashimy is the lawful President and Mahmod Hanif is the secretary general," it was claimed in the letter, also sent to insidethegames.

Signatures of the National Federation Presidents of athletics, baseball, boxing and cricket do not appear at the bottom of Hanif’s letter.

The IOC and OCA both failed to respond to requests for comment from insidethegames.