KARACHI: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has written a letter to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) amid yet another wave of uncertainty in the country’s national sport.
The letter highlighted the issue of parallel bodies within Pakistan Hockey Federation which could affect the national team’s participation in future events.
The FIH asked for clarity over who are the correct and officially recognised representatives of PHF.
It must be noted that one of the parallel bodies is led by Tariq Bugti, while Shehla Raza is in charge of the other.
Meanwhile, in the letter, the FIH has also stated that its president, Tayyab Ikram, won’t take any part in the process of resolution because of his association with Pakistan as a country in order to “avoid any perception of impartiality” which is why the matter “will be handled by the FIH senior management in the first instance”.
“It is very important that the athletes of Pakistan are able to participate in the upcoming tournaments (Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and FIH Nations Cup) and this is the utmost priority of the FIH,” the letter added.
“In order for us to facilitate this, we strongly request that any issues within the administration of PHF are dealt with internally and quickly.”
The FIH also urged the PHF to resolve the issue by the end of this week or else players’ participation in upcoming events will be in jeopardy.
“Failure to reach agreement between the two parties by this time will mean we will have no choice but to write to the Pakistan Govemment and/or the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), requesting their intervention and resolution,” the letter further stated.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also patron-in-chief of the PHF, has empowered Advisor on Youth Affairs Rana Mashhood to decide on the fate of breakaway federation in the best interest of the game considering the legal and constitutional position.
The News has learnt from sources within the Ministry for Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) that a meeting is expected on April 25 which largely clears position of the PHF. Mashhood is expected to listen to the point of view of the breakaway federation, led by Shehla, that is working largely on its own by organising a camp in Karachi.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be held from May 4-11 in Malaysia, meanwhile FIH Nations Cup will take place from May 31 to June 9 in Poland.
Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter for Geo News.
