KARACHI, July 31: Discarded full-back Tariq Imran has been issued a show cause notice by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) after he vanished from the camp without prior permission of the officials.

PHF has asked for an explanation from Tariq’s department, PTCL, for his act as the player left the camp, although he had been included in the standbys.

Tariq left the camp on July 21 soon after the team for the Aug 16-24 Champions Trophy in the Dutch city of Amstelveen, was announced. PTCL has asked Tariq to submit an official explanation which the PHF is expected to get within a week.

“Yes, PTCL has received a notice from the PHF which has asked for an explanation as to why Tariq left the camp without the prior permission of the officials,” PTCL director sports Zafar Iqbal Gondal told Dawn from Islamabad on Thursday.

PTCL official, while admitting that Tariq should not have left the camp, said it was sheer frustration caused by prejudice of coach Tahir Zaman that the player was forced to leave quietly.

“I agree Tariq should not have left the camp like this. But I would not blame him as it was nothing but despair due to discrimination of Tahir Zaman that Tariq committed that act.

“Tahir is so biased that he had already told Tariq during the June’s Australian tour that he would not be in the squad as the coach said he wants to end PTCL’s domination in the team. I think what Tariq did was in protest over Tahir’s bias,” Zafar said.

Zafar said Tariq and other PTCL players had been axed for the Champions Trophy not because they lacked talent but owing to Shahnaz Sheikh. “It is a sort of a vendetta against PTCL and Shahnaz who coaches PTCL team on an honorary basis.”

Pakistan team had eight PTCL players that toured Australia where they finished at fourth in the two three-nation tournaments in Sydney and Perth. The current squad has three PTCL players.

Former coach Shahnaz, who was elevated as manager after Col Shahid Jaffery’s sudden death, had been charged with promoting PTCL players by including them in the squad in huge numbers.

Shahnaz and Tahir had developed differences on the selection issue before the manager called it a day following a controversy involving him and two Wapda players — Sohail Abbas and Waseem Ahmad.

Zafar said Tahir had now been patronising players from his department. “The PTCL players, who were in the squad, were young and future investment. But now the players from National Bank who have no merit are being favoured by Tahir.”

Tariq was bitter when asked to comment and said it was purely discrimination by Tahir that he disappeared from the camp without intimating the PHF or the team management.

“Tahir was after the PTCL players including me and had told me during the tour of Australia that I would not be in the Champions Trophy squad. There was no point of my staying at the camp in those circumstances,” the disgruntled defender said from Gojra.

Tariq, whose name has been omitted from the probables list for the Asia Cup to be hosted by Kuala Lumpur in September, said Adnan Maqsood was in the squad as he was a NBP player, while Sumair Saleem, Imtiaz Ahmad, and Zahid Sheikh were all from the same department.

It has been learnt Zahid has strong support from Tahir and he was almost included in the squad on Tahir’s recommendation but could not make it when the squad was announced.

“I was about to announce my retirement from international hockey, but was refrained from doing so by my department,” he said.

Although Tariq did not say he would retire, it has been learnt the full-back may call it quits.