PESHAWAR, June 24: Senior vice-president of NWFP Hockey Association (NWFPHA) Syed Zahir Shah has termed the constitution of a fact-finding committee by Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to monitor the activities of hockey in NWFP as unconstitutional

“How can one come and constitute a fact-finding committee when there is nothing hidden,” said, Zahir Shah, who is also chairman of PHF Competition Committee.

Talking to reporters Syed Zahir Shah said according to the constitution of PHF such a committee is formed only when a unit of the federation is confronted with some disputes which sabotage the activities of hockey.

One such fact-finding committee had earlier been formed when PHF had been misled by secretary PHF Brig Musarratullah Khan into constituting the body to look after the matter, he said. But what happened to that committee, he questioned.

He said NWFP was the most active amongst the federating units in promoting and streamlining hockey in the country not only at district but provincial and national level as well.

NWFP is the only province where two national level competitions are held every year on regular basis, he added.

He said the province hosted the Senior and Junior Championship final and opening rounds besides district championships on regular basis then why every time fact-finding committee constitute for NWFP only.

Moreover, Zahir Shah said the history of NWFP was replete with the efforts for getting a share in holding 30 percent of international competitions with utilisation of major parts of its own resources as PHF has always provided NWFP Hockey Association a meagre monetary assistance quite insufficient to hold such events.

He said in the congress meeting of PHF held at Lahore in April 30, this year the NWFP was marked as one of the most proficient units in promoting hockey at regional, provincial and national level.

In spite of such an outstanding record why PHF is in pursuit of targeting NWFP is the most agonising question, Zahir Shah said. “I think the secretary, who looked again active against NWFP, wants to sabotage the hockey affairs,” he said.

Referring to some inhuman and unconstitutional acts done by PHF in near past, he said the federation was targeting NWFP in order to bury its humiliating saga of the near past.

He said PHF has always made NWFP Hockey Association as a scapegoat as a month ago the secretary of PHF had taken an unconstitutional decision, without consulting the president of the elite body, to appoint Malik Naveed, Director FIA as coordinator for NWFP in order to conduct scrutiny of the clubs and soon afterwards this facts finding committee has been constituted to create confusion in NWFP hockey circle and to prevent its entity from humiliating consequences of former human-trafficking saga.

“The NWFP Hockey Association is going to release a white paper in this connection soon,” Zahir Shah concluded.