LAHORE: The Peshawar High Court has again summoned officials of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to explain their position in the financial mismanagement raised by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association secretary Zahir Ali Shah in a petition.

According to the petitioner, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi had given three days to the PHF officials to appear before him on Monday to explain their position.

Zahir told Dawn that many financial irregularities had been committed by the PHF. He claimed that in his petition he had prayed to the honourable court that during the ongoing three-year tenure of the incumbent body headed by retired Brig. Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, PHF received a handsome amount of Rs440 million from the federal government.

Surprisingly, he added during this period the PHF withdrew the amount of Rs 220 million in hard cash from two branches of Habib Bank Limited located in Lahore and Karachi, respectively, while saying that according to the PHF constitution, amount exceeding above Rs100,000 must be withdrawn through a cross cheque.

He said no meeting of the Congress, the basic unit of the PHF was summoned last year (2016). Earlier, in 2015 annual meeting of the Congress no auditor was appointed so all the expenditures being made are unchecked.

Zahir further said when the PHF president was away from the country for five months for treatment, Rs120 million were withdrawn.

The honourable court had already issued an order on Aug 10, summoning the PHF officials but no one turned up from the federation.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2017