ISLAMABAD: Tariq Hussain Bugti and Rana Mujahid won the vote of confidence for their respective positions as the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president and secretary on here on Thursday, with the duo claiming 62 congress members voted for them out of a total of 92. “After this vote of confidence from 62 members out of 92, Tariq Hussain Bugti is the legitimate president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation,” Mujahid told Dawn, while adding that himself and Bugti will occupy office until 2026 after gaining a two-thirds majority.

The former Olympian said that representatives of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) attended the congress meeting, which saw the successful election of Bugti and Mujahid.

“We have been elected for the remaining two-year term after the resignations of former president and secretary Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and Haider Hussain.,” Mujahid noted.

The development comes after the apparent split of the PHF into two factions on Tuesday, after Shehla Raza was elected by the congress as the president of the body in Karachi.

Bugti was named ad-hoc PHF president by caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar before being named full-time in the role. However, another faction of congress members met in Karachi, where Shehla was elected as PHF’s first woman president — the move creating an air of uncertainty with Pakistan’s standing in the global game at its lowest ebb.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2024