LAHORE: Olympian Shahbaz Ahmed again took charge as secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation here on Thursday, as the incumbent body headed by retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar seems desirous of completing its second term, to end in 2022, despite the fact that the country has faced alarming decline in world hockey during the last four years.

Shahbaz, in the backdrop of Pakistan team’s pathetic show in the 2018 World Cup staged in India late last year, had quit the post.

Though the PHF president first appointed Ayaz Mahmood as associate secretary to work as secretary on ad hoc basis; then he quietly replaced him with PHF treasurer Ikhlaq Usmani to work as acting secretary till further decision.

Last week the PHF president, after almost six weeks, surprisingly announced that he did not accept Shahbaz’s resignation. Now Shahbaz has again joined the PHF as secretary after the FIH last month suspended Pakistan from its Pro League as the cash-strapped PHF failed to confirm the national team’s departure to Argentina to play the first leg of the league.

As the present government has not been willing to financially assist the PHF since coming to power in August and the FIH has also expelled Pakistan from the Pro League, there are fears the game’s world governing body may also penalise the country for failing to take part in the League.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2019