LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation has convened its executive board and congress meetings in Lahore on Nov 7 when the election commission for clubs’ scrutiny and PHF elections will be appointed.

The agenda of the congress meeting includes appointment of the election commissioner for conducting the scrutiny of clubs across the country which will be followed by the provincial hockey associations’ elections and those of the PHF for the 2026-30 term.

According to PHF secretary general Rana Mujahid, the agenda of the meeting also includes approval of the 2025-26 budget and the appointment of auditors of the federation.

When asked if the PHF Congress would appoint the EC, what would be the role of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) which had formed its election commission to conduct the elections of all the national federations, Mujahid said PSB’s election commission would be welcomed as an observer of the elections and scrutiny of clubs.

He continued, “But the PHF elections will be held according to the federation’s constitution. Otherwise, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) will not accept it.”

Recently, Mujahid added, the elections of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation were also held without the supervision of PSB’s EC.

“Therefore, the rules and laws, which were applied for the kabaddi federation, should also be implemented for the PHF,” he insisted.

It may be mentioned here that similar issues developed between the PSB and the Pakistan Olympic Association in 2012, which brought Pakistan at the brink of suspension from the International Olympic Committee due to the government’s interference in POA matters.

However, in order to avoid the suspension, Ijaz Ahmed, then secretary of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee (IPC), went to IOC headquarters Lausanne where an agreement between the government of Pakistan and the IOC was signed under which the government gave an assurance to accept the POA as an autonomous body.

And now by appointing its election commission, the PSB decided to get the powers to conduct elections of all national sports federations but they are not ready to accept it, considering it as a violation of the Lausanne agreement.

Last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as PHF patron-in-chief appointed Tariq Hussain Bugti the federation’s president with a mandate to scrutinise clubs and hold fresh elections.

However, Bugti ignoring the patron’s instructions got himself elected as PHF president. However, now the National Assembly’s Standing Committee in a meeting decided that Bugti would conduct clubs scrutiny and fresh PHF elections.

In line with these instructions, the PHF issued a press release on Saturday, saying, “With the approval of PHF President Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti, PHF Secretary General Rana Mujahid has convened the Congress and Executive Board meetings on Nov 7, 2025.”

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2025