ISLAMABAD - Olympian Naveed Alam has termed current hockey federation’s officials as murderers of Pakistan hockey and demanded exemplary punishments for them to save the game from further disaster.
Naveed, who had coached Pakistan hockey team in 2008 and also took them to Beijing Olympic, where the team finished eighth with his six-month training and efforts, said: “It is not enough to send the culprits home, rather they must be given exemplary punishments so that no one else may dare to think about doing so.”
The ex-Olympian requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is also patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), to order FIA, CIA, NAB and other law enforcing agencies to start investigation against those who had destroyed hockey.
“The current PHF officials have turned the federation’s constitution into a homemade book and made a bulk of changes in it to save their skins. The original PHF constitution clearly bars convicted persons from even holding district level offices. Akhtar Rasool was convicted in Supreme Court attack in 1999, while Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) imposed 10-year ban on Rana Mujahid and world bodies also banned him for establishing a parallel POA,” he said.
“Akhtar Rasool claimed he had served Pakistan hockey for 50 years, but actually he and his companions had done nothing but created rifts in the team and internal differences surfaced during his captaincy in 1982. I demand the IPC probe committee to make its report public so that the masses may know the actual facts. The delay in probe committee’s report and action on it has been proving disastrous for Pakistan hockey,” he added.
Naveed held four persons responsible for the entire hockey debacle. “Qasim Zia, Asif Bajwa, Rana Mujahid and Akhtar Rasool are attached with the federation since 2008 in one or another capacity. They are actually mafias and kabza group. They were involved in human trafficking, which was proved against some certain individuals, but still they have been enjoying perks and privileges. They always cry about funds, but not ready to provide details of Rs 1 billion which they had received from government since 2008 till date.
“I am voice of Olympians, masses and all those who are in pain and worried about future of Pakistan hockey. I request the prime minister to order seizure of PHF offices immediately, and confine all the record and start investigation without any further delay,” he added.
Naveed said: “I have plans which can revive Pakistan hockey within one year. Persons like Khawaja Zakaullah and Mir Zafar Ullah Khan Jamali can restore lost pride and they must be handed reign of Pakistan hockey so that the national game may start progressing with each passing day.”
“I am very grateful to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RISJA) for stepping forward and offering financial help for hockey revival. I strongly recommend that Pakistan Premier Hockey League (PPHL) must be started without any further delay and international players must be involved in it as it will help our players to gain exposure of playing with international players and perform exceptionally well in international events,” he asserted.
“It is my humble request to the prime minister to show the incompetent persons door and bring in those persons who are technocrat, sincere with the game and want Pakistan hockey regain it lost glory,” Naveed concluded.