LAHORE: Four former hockey players have written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Hockey Federation (FIH), alleging that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officeholders are involved in the embezzlement of finances and not letting go of their positions even though they have long surpassed their legal terms.
The national team’s former coach Khawaja Muhammad Junaid, Olympians Saleem Nazim and Khalid Bashir and former player Syed Ali Abbas are the authors of the letter in which they have detailed how the current PHF officeholders came into power in November 2013 but forcefully continue to occupy office although their four-year tenures expired in November 2017, thus exceeding their constitutional limits.
“Thus, as per constitution there exists no legal body and the present body has become defunct,” an excerpt from their letter reads.
“There is absolutely no check and balance on the finances of the PHF and a number of cash withdrawals have been made by the PHF from banks without observing formalities,” reads another excerpt.
The quartet further claims that PHF President Khalid Khokhar forbade Congress members from talking about a congress meeting held in January this year, going as far as threatening them with legal action if his orders were not followed.
They said that free and fair elections are an impossible task under the illegal office holders and urged authorities that re-elections be “held under an independent election commission for the sake of fairness and transparency and to avoid favouritism and nepotism.”
On the other hand, national team manager and hockey legend Hassan Sardar took a swipe at the coach Junaid and the other Olympians who co-authored the letter terming it “an effort to malign Pakistan and the national game”.
“The prime minister and president should take notice of this,” he urged and challenged the four to “present proof or else avoid levelling allegations.”
He waved off any serious concerns as he claimed that “the FIH does not have any jurisdiction over Pakistani matters.”
