Controversy erupts as PHF Congress meeting postponed

ISLAMABAD: Controversy erupted on Saturday following a press release issued by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) stating that suspended president Brig Khalid Khokhar has canceled the extraordinary Congress meeting set to be held in Islamabad on August 31 and reinstated himself and all federation office-bearers without seeking a vote of confidence.

The extraordinary PHF Congress meeting was convened on August 31 in Islamabad in lieu of the Pakistan Sports Board’s (PSB) recent notification that suspended all the PHF office bearers.

“All PHF office-bearers are suspended in the light of the PSB’s August 16 notification till the time they seek fresh vote of confidence from extraordinary Congress meeting on August 31,” was the letter issued by the PHF on August 23 following understanding reached between former PHF president Akhtar Rasool, Zahir Shah (President KPK Hockey) and former secretary PHF Asif Bajwa in a meeting held at Brig Khokhar's residence in Islamabad.

However, just three days later, Khokhar reinstated all office bearers and canceled his previous orders which asked for a fresh vote of confidence from all office bearers.

When the PSB Director General Shoaib Khoso was approached he said that there is no hockey federation at the moment.

“We have already suspended the PHF and all their actions taken after suspension are illegal. Under the PM orders we have suspended the federation till the time fresh elections are to be conducted which will be supervised by the PSB. We are in the process of making arrangements for that,” he said. The DG also termed all the action taken by the suspended office bearers after the notification as illegal. “These actions are totally illegal.”

A few sitting suspended federation officials including President KPK Hockey Association when approached was adamant that all are bound to seek fresh vote of confidence.

“I am associate secretary PHF and am suspended till the time I seek a fresh vote of confidence from Congress. Once you declare that all PHF office bearers will have to take a vote of confidence, every official is bound to do that. Now it is a must for every official to seek a fresh vote of confidence. There has been no Congress meeting for more than a year now. No budget estimates and approval so far. How the federation is being run is a big question that requires investigation. You cannot run federation this way.”