LAHORE: Intensifying their three-year long campaign against the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) amid pathetic shows by national teams in international contests, a group of former Olympians on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to order audit of PHF accounts for the 2008-2013 period.

The former Olympians, who gathered in Islamabad on Wednesday, also announced to stage a demonstration against the woeful state of Pakistan hockey in front of the Parliament House on Thursday.

A good number of these former Olympians including Islahuddin Siddiqui, Shahnaz Sheikh, Samiullah Khan, Salim Sherwani, Qamar Zia, Qamar Ibrahim, Ayaz Mahmood, Kamran Ashraf, Mohammad Saqlain and Salim Nazim have gathered in Islamabad for the protest.

These ex-players some three years ago launched a campaign against the previous PHF set-up headed by Qasim Zia, amid a flurry of very poor shows by national teams in international events.

However, that set-up completed its tenure and now a new PHF is functioning under president Akhtar Rasool, himself a former Olympian, as a result of the PHF elections held late last month.

Though Akhtar, soon after being elected as president, had met several former Olympians, asking them to come forward and help him promote hockey, the ex-players decided to continue their campaign against the new set-up too, regarding it is a continuity of the previous one. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s performances in international competitions continue to remain dismal with national junior team’s embarrassing ninth-place finish in the 16-nation World Cup being the latest shock.

Shahnaz along with other former Olympians had announced in Lahore during a press conference a couple of months ago that they would not only demonstrate in front of the Parliament but would also return their medals they had won for Pakistan to the government in case it did not meet their demands.

However according to a press release issued by the Olympians, they would not return their medals and will only urge Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to order an audit of the PHF accounts for the 2008-2013 period, besides investigating the affairs of the 19 PHF academies.

The former Olympians have termed these academies ‘ghost’, where around 55 coaches are being paid.

It may be mentioned here that Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada had sent a summary to the prime minister to impose ad hoc on the PHF before its elections were held on Nov 25.

The minister had also suggested some names to head the caretaker set-up including former president Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

However, the prime minister did not endorse the summary, allowing the PHF to hold its elections according to the constitution.

Apparently in an effort to take the minister into confidence, Akhtar also met him in Islamabad, but it seems the minister is still trying to get his summary for the ad hoc approved by the prime minister.

The hockey circles fear that in case of an ad hoc, the FIH may suspend the PHF membership, considering the move as an act of interference by government.

The overall situation too is not good for the PHF, already facing a significant financial crisis, with almost no funds in the coffers to pay its staff salaries for the month of December. It is believed that the federation needs around Rs900,000 to make the payments.