LAHORE: After a considerable delay of eight months, the cash-strapped Pakistan Hockey Fede­ration (PHF) on Monday finally issued the first installment of the arrears of senior and junior players and staff members.

While the players and the federation’s staff had been waiting for the last eight months to get their dues, the tussle between two groups to get control of the PHF — with almost nothing in its bank accounts which had been blocked — only prolonged the financial suffering of the players and the staff.

On Monday, PHF president Tariq Hussain Bugti, in his meetings with nati­onal senior team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt and skipper of the junior side Hanan Shahid Butt, ensu­red them that all the dues would be cleared soon.

Speaking on the occasion, Bugti asked the players to focus on their performance while noting that the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was round the corner. The PHF president urged them to forget the past and prepare themselves for the future.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2024