PM asks ministry to conduct special audit of PHF

ISLAMABAD: The prime minister, who is patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) too, has directed the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to conduct a special audit of the federation for the last five years to determine the future course of action for falling standard of the national game in the country.

The prime minister has taken serious note of Pakistan’s absence from the just concluded 16-team World Cup and asked the ministry to write to the Auditor General of Pakistan to conduct a special audit and submit the report so that the appropriate decisions could be taken.

“Yes, we have received special instructions from the patron-in-chief to conduct the PHF’s audit at the earliest so that the decision on the summary, which is already in PM Office, could be taken. This audit will not be ordinary as a special team will be looking into the five-year affairs of the PHF before taking the future course of action,” a well-informed source within the ministry said.

A summary to appoint a five-member committee comprising former hockey stalwarts have already been forwarded by the ministry for PM’s approval. The source added that the concerned ministry is expected to send a letter to this effect to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) within the next few days to depute a special team to conduct the audit under the special instructions of the prime minister.

“Though the AGP has already conducted an audit of the federation however the fresh audit would be a special one. The findings of the audit would help initiate criminal inquiries against all those guilty of serious wrongdoings in the federation.”

‘The News’ has learnt that the PM Office has taken serious note of the initial audit that revealed that a huge amount has been withdrawn from the PHF’s kitty and the federation’s officials were also running a hidden bank account which never came under any scrutiny.

Furthermore, some of the vehicles were disposed of following serious accidents without adopting a proper procedure.

“There are some serious allegations raised in the audit report but for filing criminal inquiries and handing over the matter to FIA or any other investigation authority, the competent authority wants that a special audit team should go through all the details before initiating such measures.”

It has also been learnt that some other serious irregularities have been found in the audit report which required further probe. Meanwhile, PHF secretary Haider Hussain appeared in front of the departmental auditors (DAC) of the ministry on January 26 to answer some important pending questions.

“Haider has given his side of the story but we require some more details which we asked him to share at the earliest,” the official who attended the meeting said. When the PHF secretary was approached he said he was waiting for the minutes of the meeting to share the details.

“Even before the minutes, we have started our efforts to share all the available details on the questionnaire that we have received from the ministry.”

The matter could land in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) if the ministry feels it necessary. “In case we are not satisfied with PHF answers, the matter could be forwarded to the PAC for further action.”