Senate sub committee points out administrative loopholes in PHF

ISLAMABAD: A Senate sub-committee has handed over its report about the pathetic plight of Pakistan hockey to Senate Secretariat, pointing out that administrative loopholes at the PHF offices were among the reasons behind stagnation of the national game.

The committee is headed by Senator Waleed Iqbal (convener) and includes Senators Seemee Ezdi and Lt Gen (rtd) Salahuddin Tirmizi. The sub-committee was formed by the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). The report submitted a few days back highlights the poor work of the PHF and demands administrative adjustments to plug the loopholes.

The PHF has already witnessed a major change as Shahbaz Ahmad has been replaced by Asif Bajwa as the secretary. The committee asked the Auditor General of Pakistan not to waste time and to complete the forensic audit of the PHF immediately. “Every stakeholder and hockey followers are eagerly looking forward to the forensic audit report in the wake of serious allegations of misappropriation of funds in the PHF,” the report says and adds the earlier the auditors complete their job, the better it will be for the game.

The sub-committee recommended that if the forensic audit pointed out any misappropriation of funds, the matter should be referred to the authorities concerned. The report also mentioned that the advent of artificial turf and changes in international rules had made physical strength more important than techniques, flexibility and wrist work.

Though it took time for every top nation to realise the importance of these changes, Pakistan hockey struggled to come to the terms with these changes. Barring a few eras of brilliance, Pakistan’s performance has not been consistent since the changes.

The committee stressed the need to focus on domestic hockey and working at grassroots level. “Hardly any efforts were made to transfer the new requirements of international hockey at domestic level. Either the effort was too weak or the capability was never there to shift the modern requirements towards local youth and clubs,” the report says.

It has also been pointed out that the PHF has been getting government support. “Still no real effort was made to streamline the system,” the committee says. The convener Senator Waleed Iqbal was not available for comments on the report.