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LAHORE: Insisting that some miscreants are using fake documents in the deceitful business of stamping visa of different countries to send hockey teams abroad illegally, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Monday warned the culprits of highly strict action in this regard.
The PHF issued a press release on Monday after reports emerged in the press that one Nawaz Rana — brother of former Olympian Shahbaz Junior from Toba Tek Singh — had been using a certificate issued by PHF secretary Asif Bajwa to get visas of Italy and Canada and sending teams to these countries illegally. The reports surfaced after Nawaz Rana was arrested on the complaint of Nasir Abbas — a client of Nawaz.
The FIA has been investigating the case. There are also reports that Nawaz has been dealing in this dirty business for many years.
Currently, Shahbaz Jr is living in Canada and there are doubts that he promoted his brother in the circles of the game and later he (Nawaz) started this dirty business, which resulted in Pakistan’s reputation getting a bad name in the past, too.
Shahbaz Jr as Toba Tek Singh’s secretary District Hockey Association, had included Nawaz’s name for a local coaching course, held on Feb 5, 2006. But in fact, sources said, Nawaz had no knowledge of the game.
After getting information about Nawaz’s unlawful business, PHF secretary Asif Bajwa had written a letter to the Italian Embassy in Islamabad on Dec 6, 2008 raising this issue, though Bajwa did not mention the name of any culprit in that letter.
Bajwa in the letter had advised the Embassy to take serious notice of the illegal visa business, adding otherwise the PHF shall not be responsible.
“If at all, there is any bona fide case, fulfilling all legal requirements, the PHF will directly request the embassy,” Bajwa had said in a letter to the Italian Embassy.
But despite PHF’s letter to the Italian Embassy Nawaz kept on sending teams to Italy.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the PHF issued the following press release, keeping itself aside from all such business.
The press release says: “The PHF has taken a very serious note of the exploitation of fake and bogus documents by some miscreants, who have maligned the good name of PHF and also cast serious aspersions on the federation.
“The PHF management shall lodge FIR against the culprits, criminals and wrongdoers who have blemished the PHF.
“In this regard, the PHF management is approaching the director general FIA for proper investigation and to deal the culprits with iron hand and snub such negative activities against the national sport federation in future,” it concludes.
Our Sports Reporter from Karachi adds: Meanwhile, Bajwa strongly condemned and denied the fresh wave of allegations regarding the federation’s involvement in visa scams being made by various sources.
“I thought we had seen the end of it but the issue was brought up again in some talk show on a private channel and some newspapers, too, a couple of days ago, which is when we decided to do something about it,” said Bajwa while speaking to Dawn on Monday.
Bajwa was talking about the matter of PHF’s involvement in allegedly sending people posing as hockey players abroad with fake documents that were convincing enough to get them visas.
The PHF secretary thought that the matter has come up again due to the brother of a former Olympian being taken into custody by the FIA recently.
“Just because a relative of a former player may be involved in such things doesn’t mean that a national sports federation is involved too,” Bajwa reasoned. “But what do you do when opportunists who don’t wish us well pounce on the opportunity of maligning our good name?”
