KARACHI, Oct 15: The country’s former Olympians have criticised the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) decision to hold elections and that, too, now, with the Junior World Cup just around the corner.

“The current PHF management is always looking to make its own position stronger right before any event in which they don’t expect much from the team,” Olympian Islahuddin Siddiqui shared with Dawn on Tuesday.

“They held their previous elections in 2010 just a month before the FIH World Cup that year while not concentrating on team. The result was that Pakistan ended up 12th in 12 teams,” Islah reminded.

“Then last year, when the national team was to feature in the London Olympics, the PHF was busy in the Pakistan Olympic Association elections as its president, Qasim Zia, was running for the presidency there. The result again was disgrace in the Olympics.

“Now the junior team is going to take part in the Jr World Cup in Dec but here they are announcing their elections “And kind of elections are these going to be, I wonder,” Islah said, “All the people involved in it are PHF employees. They all have a stake in the current management. All scratch each others’ backs,” he said. “In the last five years, they dumped the good hockey clubs in favour of forming their own clubs all over the country because they knew the people associated with those clubs will not vote for them. It weakened the hockey base as now there is no hockey talent coming up.

“There should at least be a neutral body to oversee the elections. I wish the Prime Minister of Pakistan would bring in an interim management to hold the elections. The Pakistan Sports Board and the Pakistan Olympics Association need to be involved in these elections for sure,” he said.

“A little attention from the Prime Minister will change the hockey scenario in this country,” he continued.

Adding to Islah’s reaction, fellow Olympian Shahnaz Shaikh said: “A PHF election being held by a sitting federation president will be going against the PHF constitution. The recent Executive Board meeting held by the PHF in which they decided to change their election commissioner was not even attended by Khushbakht Shujaat, Barrister Shahida Jamil, Wasay Jalil and Hasan Sardar.

“And executive decision needs approval from the Congress. PHF has more than 126 Congress members. How can they even announce elections without their approval?” he questioned.

“Then the current PHF Secretary Rana Mujahid has been banned by the POA from taking part in such activities for no less than 10 years. The sports federations come under the POA. So how can he of all people be announcing elections?

“For the betterment of hockey, I appeal to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to kindly take notice of these irregularities. PM Sharif is the patron-in-chief of hockey. He has already taken a decision for cricket here by bringing in an ad hoc. Then why can’t he do the same for hockey?

“We the senior Olympians have been begging the former PM to do something for hockey for the last five years and now we are begging PM Sharif to please save Pakistan hockey.

“Next year, 2014, is very significant for hockey. There is the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Champions Trophy, too. These people holding the reins of hockey in Pakistan have no right to run the affairs of the national sport after doing nothing for the sport in the last five years. What can they do now?” the Olympian pleaded.

Meanwhile Samiullah, another Olympian who was known as Flying Horse during his playing days as speedy winger, said that he can’t even imagine how low Pakistan hockey will slip after another term with the same PHF management.

“Look at where we are now. We already are at rock bottom,” he said. “We want Pakistan hockey to at least be ranked in the top four teams in the world. How is that ever going to happen with the people who took the sport to the bottom staying put? If they cared, they shouldn’t even he contesting the elections,” he observed.

“And I fail to understand how former players like Akhtar Rasool and Manzoor ul Hassan are supporting them. Don’t they care about hockey anymore?

“Now we are only looking at our Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to kindly form an impartial committee for scrutinizing the PHF elections. The field should also be opened to other people associated with hockey instead of just the current PHF stakeholders,” he concluded.