LAHORE: Terming the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Congress meeting scheduled for Friday unconstitutional, several representatives from different parts of the country who claim to be the genuine members of the Congress and some former players have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to postpone the said meeting.
The Congress meeting, called by the Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani-led ad-hoc PHF body, is scheduled to be held in Islamabad.
While member of the National Assembly Shehla Raza, who is a PHF Congress member from Sindh, wrote a letter to the prime minister who is the federation’s patron-in-chief, other aggrieved Congress members from Sindh, Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of the country sent their letters to Wani, members of the Standing Committee of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the IPC Ministry, for not inviting them to the March 27 gathering.
In their letters, the members pointed out that though they were elected in the 2022 PHF elections, neither the IPC nor the PSB endorsed those elections.
Later, previous PHF president Tariq Hussain Bugti in 2023 and 2024 changed several Congress members unconstitutionally, which caused a dispute between the PSB, IPC and Bugti, the upset Congress members expressed.
Now, the concerned members pointed out, the same Congress members, who were approved by Bugti, were called to Friday’s meeting despite the fact that neither the IPC nor the PSB endorsed that list of members.
According to PHF’s constitution, they underlined, a Congress member could only be changed in three conditions: in case of a death, a resignation or a no-confidence motion passed against a member by his respective district body.
Whereas Bugti, the omitted Congress members contended, had changed many Congress members, ignoring all three conditions of the constitution, adding these “unconstitutional members” were asked to attend the meeting.
Moreover, they emphasised, the Wani-led body, despite presently having no functioning secretary or treasurer, had decided to amend the PHF constitution in Friday’s meeting, which they claimed was not included in its mandate that was only to hold fresh PHF elections.
Meanwhile, Shehla in her letter to the Prime Minister, IPC, PSB and all members of the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on the IPC Ministry, pointed out that “serious concerns have arisen regarding the notice issued for an extraordinary Congress meeting of the PHF, reportedly called by the ad-hoc President PHF on March 27, 2026 under Article 12.10 & 12.10.3 of the PHF Constitution.
“This development warrants immediate attention in light of established facts and prior official directions. Through a clear trail of documented decisions and a series of meetings of the Standing Committee on IPC and the PSB, it is widely known within the hockey fraternity and the nation that the Honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan, through the IPC and the PSB, has already suspended the PHF,” she said in her letter.
“Furthermore, explicit directions have been issued for fresh elections, comprehensive scrutiny of affiliated clubs, and a probe into financial misappropriation to fix responsibility. It is also a matter of record that the IPC and the PSB have not endorsed the 2022 PHF elections. Consequently, an ad-hoc set-up was constituted solely to facilitate a transparent transition, with Mr Tariq Hussain Bugti assigned as PHF president. His mandate was clearly defined: to ensure scrutiny of clubs, conduct free and fair elections, and facilitate the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in probing 113 pending audit paras to determine accountability.
“However, the subsequent formation of parallel bodies and actions attributed to Mr Bugti and Mr Rana Mujahid Ali have raised serious constitutional and legal questions. In this context, any Congress constituted post-2022, without adherence to the directives of the Government and oversight bodies, cannot be regarded as legitimate or valid. In view of the above, it is reiterated that, as per the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office and the recommendations of the IPC and the PSB, the only lawful course is the conduct of fresh, transparent elections leading to the formation of a duly elected and legitimate PHF Congress. Proceeding with the proposed [March 27] meeting under the current circumstances would not only be inconsistent with the Government’s directives but may also undermine the integrity of the reform process already underway,” her letter added.
Meanwhile, former Olympians Hanif Khan, Nasir Ali, Naeem Akhtar, Khalid Bashir and Mohammad Saqlain urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Wani to avoid the same trap – which the ex-players claimed being set by a group of hockey circle – that deceived previous president Bugti, who ignored his mandate of holding fresh PHF elections.
Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2026
