ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Friday expressed its displeasure over the absence of Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani and managing director Wasim Khan from the National Assembly Standing Committee meeting that was held here on Friday.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC), which met here at Parliament House with MNA Agha Hassan Baloch, was supposed to get briefing on the performance of the PCB and that of Pakistan team at this year’s ICC World Cup.

However, the committee showed its displeasure over the absence of the chairman and MD, directed them to appear next month. The committee did not get briefing from PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed. MNA Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, to register his protest against the PCB high-ups not attending the meeting, walked out of the committee meeting. However, he was later brought back by his colleagues.

The committee members said if MNAs could travel from Karachi and Quetta to Islamabad to attend the standing committee meetings, why the PCB officials did not attend the meeting. MNA Iqbal also questioned the new constitution of the PCB, saying who will brief the committee whether the new constitution is democratic or dictatorial?

The committee decided that briefing on cricket affairs, including PCB’s performance and that of the national team and the new constitution, will be discussed at the next meeting in the presence of PCB chairman and MD.

Meanwhile, the committee discussed the issues of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). However, when PHF secretary Asif Bajwa started his briefing, the committee members particularly Iqbal questioned his appointment adding that he faced several allegations in the past. Defending himself, Bajwa said his appointment had been made in accordance with the rules and insisted he was not involved in any case.

The committee directed that a detailed briefing should be given on the PHF constitution and also on the alarming decline of field hockey, which is Pakistan’s national sport, during the next meeting.

The PHF secretary, however, briefed the committee about the national game. He said Pakistan in recent years was not getting the pool of players it used to get in the past, adding that there is a need to focus on college- and school-level hockey to uplift the sport. “The government must make hockey competitions mandatory in educational institutions.”

The secretary PHF said the federation is also planning to set up academies across the country.

Besides Iqbal, other MNAs who attended the meeting included Mebhoob Shah, Gul Dad Khan, Gul Zafar Khan, Robina Jamil, Munawara Bibi Baloch, Shaheen Naz Saifullah, Ali Zahid, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali Bhinder, Rana Mubashir Iqbal and Muhammad Afzal Khokhar.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019