The mercurial centre-forward was critical on his department National Bank (NBP) for what he believed were the discriminatory policies against the hockey players.
I have been associated with NBP since 2003 and still waiting to get a permanent job. All they are offering is the position of Senior Assistant in grade 15. But things are pretty different for the national cricketers Fawad Alam and Kamran Akmal who have been appointed Assistant Vice-Presidents after winning the Twenty20 World Cup. How hockey players will perform when they are treated with such discrimination, Haseem told Dawn.com on Saturday.
The forward, who made headlines with his scintillating performance at the Asia Cup in Malaysia, said he had been getting Rs30,000 per month but if he chose to be a Senior Assistant he would get only about Rs13,000.
It is a strange dilemma. If we choose to become permanent, we get meagre salary, if we choose bigger amount then there is no security. Are we (hockey players) supposed to be serving as clerks in the banks, while cricketers enjoy privileges after winning such a small event? It is not only me, but senior players like team captain Zeeshan Ashraf, Salman Akbar, Akhtar Ali, Tariq Aziz are also being treated like this.
The bank says we should improve our academic qualifications. But I ask are these cricketers better qualified than us (hockey players). If there will be no job security how we will perform well in this period of recession and inflation, said Haseem, who is studying for bachelors in electronics engineering from Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology.
Haseem, who has been getting offers from PIA and Port Qasim Authority to join their ranks, said while he sacrificed his studies by missing two semesters at the university to represent Pakistan, his department was treating him with bias.
The spearhead, who made his international debut in 2008 at Hamburg Masters, believes while hard work could ameliorate skills, it could never replace natural talent.
No doubt hard work makes a player better, but only those excel who were born with God-gifted talent. When both, natural talent and hard wok, are combined, then you see an extraordinary player, said the forward.
Haseem, who is indeed a star born after the legendary Shahbaz Ahmad, seems to take the reins as the skipper of the national side within five years if all goes well. But he is certainly a star who was neglected for quite some time before being given an opportunity to prove his mettle.
Although the forward was called up for 2006 Asian Games training camp, he was never selected and continued representing the junior outfit that too as an ordinary player. He finally became the vice-captain of the junior side before being elevated and then again demoted to vice-captain at Junior World Cup earlier this year.
While he was selected for the Hamburg Masters last year, he was dropped for unknown reason for other events only to be recalled again for the national duty at Asia Cup.
Having played 10 matches and scored seven goals for the senior side, Haseem considers his uncle, former Pakistan captain Hanif Khan, his mentor, ideal and inspiration.
Haseem, who started playing hockey as a 6th grade student, feels scarcity of stadiums and proper infrastructure is one of the contributing factors for declining state of hockey in the country.
We have only two stadiums left in as big city as Karachi. One is Hockey Club (of Pakistan) and the other UBL Sports Complex. UBL facility is private and they charge money for playing on their ground, while turf at Customs Sports Complex is in tatters. I must say we need more synthetic turfs in the city and all over the country.
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