Member of National Assembly Syeda Shehla Raza and a group of former Olympians and officials have called for immediate accountability and financial recovery following the resignation of Pakistan Hockey Federation president Tariq Bugti and acting secretary Rana Mujahid Ali after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted their departures. The delegation, which included Olympians Kaleemullah, Samiaullah, Hanif Khan, Nasser Ali, Ayaz Mehmood and Wasim Feroze, as well as former PHF secretary Haider Hussain and international player Mohammad Naeem, accused the federation of long-standing mismanagement that has harmed Pakistan hockey.
Addressing the gathering, Syeda Shehla Raza said, “The story is not over yet. Those who looted PHF funds must be held accountable, their names placed on the Exit Control List (ECL). Our aim is not positions but the revival of Pakistan’s national sport. Finally, the voices of players and concerned citizens have reached the corridors of power.” She urged a detailed investigation into PHF finances and practices dating back to 2008 and demanded transparent audits covering 113 paragraphs of records that she said point to more than PKR 150 crore in irregularities.
Former Olympian Samiaullah stressed the need for a working team appointed on merit to aid in the federation’s recovery, while Hanif Khan questioned why those accused of embezzling hockey funds should not face the same legal treatment as corrupt politicians. The group urged the Prime Minister to constitute a professional committee of former players and experts to restructure PHF operations and restore governance standards.
Allegations raised at the meeting included claims that several former presidents and secretaries, named among them Olympian Akhtar Rasool, Brig. (Retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Tariq Bugti, former secretaries Rana Mujahid Ali, Shahbaz Senior and Asif Bajwa, were linked to financial irregularities. Delegates requested that individuals under inquiry be barred from leaving the country through ECL listings while investigations proceed.
Former PHF secretary Haider Hussain went further, alleging that the federation had been involved in human smuggling over the past two years and called on the Prime Minister to probe all foreign trips by the national team. International player Mohammad Naeem described mistreatment of the team during a recent tour to Australia and said coverage of those incidents by foreign media was a national embarrassment, adding that mismanagement has left Pakistan with barely 100 functional hockey clubs nationwide.
Nasser Ali accused FIH-related leadership, naming Tayyab Ikram, of exploiting positions for personal advantage by controlling hotel and catering arrangements for teams, a charge the delegation said has contributed to the decline of Pakistan hockey at the international level. The speakers repeatedly framed their demands as focused on the sport’s revival rather than personal gain and called for legally compliant, transparent probes of all officials implicated in the allegations.
The delegation thanked the Prime Minister for the recent resignations and urged swift legal and administrative action, including full financial audits and ECL placements where warranted, to recover funds and rebuild the federation. They vowed to cooperate with any inquiry and to support a professionally run working committee tasked with restoring integrity and competitive standing to Pakistan hockey.
