All eyes on Sharif as Pakistan hockey awaits PM’s decisions

KARACHI: The national hockey fraternity is looking towards the Prime Minister House in the hope that premier Nawaz Sharif will soon use his sweeping powers to help put the sport back on the right track.
Sources told ‘The News’ on Monday that there are chances that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might soon take important decisions over the fate of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
“Some important announcements could be made within the next couple of days aimed at bringing betterment in Pakistan hockey,” a source said.
The prime minister will be taking vital decisions on the basis of the finding submitted to his office by an inquiry committee that was formed soon after Pakistan hockey experienced yet another black day when the national team failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
Pakistan flopped miserably in the Olympic Qualifiers in Belgium, a performance which meant that after failing to make the cut for World Cup 2014 the Green-shirts will also miss the Rio Games.
The inquiry committee has recently concluded that top PHF officials were responsible for the Belgium debacle. The committee recommended that as patron-in-chief of the PHF, Sharif should sack the PHF chiefs and bring in sincere people to run the hockey federation in a professional manner.
Sources said that it remains to be seen whether Sharif will act upon the recommendations made by the inquiry committee.
Meanwhile, another source said that veteran politician Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali – a former PHF president – will soon be meeting the prime minister to discuss the fate of PHF and Pakistan hockey.