ISLAMABAD - The Prime Minister’s probe-committee headed by IPC secretary Ejaz Chaudhry kept on waiting Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Chaudhry Akhtar Rasool, secretary Rana Mujahid and captain M Imran for several hours for the second round of meeting, which never took place on Friday.
The inside sources confirmed to this scribe that Ejaz had instructed the federation, captain and head coach to ensure their presence in the second round of the probe committee meeting, but after several hours, the proposed meeting didn't take place and they were informed on mobile that they could leave. Akhtar Rasool, Rana Mujahid and Imran left for home, while the probe committee didn't even bother to invite Shahnaz Sheikh on second day of the committee meeting held at Joint Secretary's office.
The sources confirmed said it was quite clear that the committee had already made up their minds regarding report and entire exercise of meeting with the federation president, secretary, head coach and captain was just a formality. They didn't take the inquiry seriously. The committee, comprising Col (R) Mudassar, Shahbaz Senior, Kh Junaid and Akhtar Ganjera, just inquired the matter with Shahnaz Sheikh and skipper Imran, while Rana Mujahid and Akhtar Rasool were not asked any question.
Ejaz had confirmed that they would again meet the federation’s officials, coach and captain on Friday and after detailed inquiry, they would submit their report to the PM, but even on the first day, it was clearly evident with the body language of Rana Mujahid that he was very confident, while on the other hand, Akhtar Rasool was looking very nervous and was mentally prepared to face the axe. Kh Junaid had clearly denied he was vying for any slot in the expected setup, while Shahbaz Senior kept mum on the question and was busy in lobbying and didn't answer whether he was contender for secretary slot or not.
How is it possible for the probe committee to prepare report with only one-day meeting and that too only with Shahnaz Sheikh who submitted detailed report, while the federation was asked to submit their findings and reasons behind debacle? One major thing which probe committee and others had completely ignored was the players, who were equally responsible for the on-field worst performances. Actually just because of poor finishing, green shirts failed to qualify for the Olympics, and the players were more concerned about selfies rather than focusing on main task of earning Olympic berth.
The sources further confirmed that the probe committee had sought report from the federation, but it was not clear how many days were given to the federation to submit report. Already two days have gone and how many days probe-committee will take to finalize their findings report, nobody knows. What was the purpose of holding meeting so secretly at Joint Secretary office, why committee members and convener switched off their mobiles, why journalists were denied access to the committee meeting and why no briefing was arranged on Friday? The matter of the fact is that the probe committee convener Ejaz Ch didn’t want to face the media who were cornered on the first day but especially the second day proved too tough for them, as no one there to talk to media. This clearly shows that the government has already made up its mind and only meager formalities are left.
The sources confirmed that it was a matter of only few hours before resignation could be seek from the PHF president and secretary, while necessary amendments could be made in the PHF constitution to pave way for Mir Zafar Ullah Khan Jamali to take over president office, as according to PHF constitution, 70 plus year old person can't hold office in the federation in any capacity. Shahbaz Senior, who was advisor to president Akhtar Rasool and was holding office in the federation, is front runner for the secretary office, while in case Akhtar Rasool and Rana Mujahid refused to tender resigns, the plan B is also in place. The cases in NAB could be opened as Rana Mujahid was already facing inquiry into alleged misuse of National Games 2013 funds, while Supreme Court attack haunting Akhtar Rasool.
Instead of forming probe committee, which is just a formality, the government should have acted in the best interest of the country and hockey and dissolved the PHF and appointed an interim setup to run the affairs of the federation. There is no major international event except Champions Trophy next year, so the government can easily streamline the federation affairs. The president should be drafted from corporate sector and he should be given task of arranging 75 percent funds, while the government should bear 25 percent expenditures. This could be proven the best plan for the hockey revival in the country.