LAHORE, Aug 1: Former Olympian Akhtar-ul-Islam was nominated as new secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in place of Brig Mussarat Ullah Khan here on Monday. President of PHF, Tariq Kirmani surprised many with the announcement on Monday which was a total contradiction to his July 19 statement that said Mussarat Ullah would continue in office till September this year. Mussarat Ullah had quit the PHF secretary’s post earlier on the same day.

On Monday, the outgoing secretary was also present on the occasion but refused to comment on the PHF’s somersault on the matter. His discreet reply was: "After the resignation, I was mentally prepared to quit the office at any time and in fact the immediate nomination is better for the game."

Sources, however, said the reason for the president’s sudden decision was in fact the scathing criticism he was facing in the aftermath of the Pakistan fifth spot finish in the six-nation Champions Trophy which concluded in Spain on Sunday.

Akhtar, the new PHF secretary, has been serving the federation as national selector since November 2005. His appointment, however, an arbitrary decision on the president’s part since he does not have to bother with getting an endorsement on his decision from the PHF Congress or Council as both the institutions are non-existent.

The cases against some of the elected bodies, especially of the Sindh Hockey Association, are pending in the courts of law and the Congress and Council could only be restablished after the court’s decision.

Akhtar will work till the next elections of PHF which are due in September this year after which he will be seeking a re-election for the next term of four years.

A prominent hockey player in the 70s, he scored the winning goal for Pakistan in the first ever World Cup final against Spain. He was also the member of Pakistan team which participated in 1972 Olympics in Munich. He also represented the country in Asian Games 1970 at Bangkok where Pakistan won a gold medal.