KARACHI: The three senior Pakistan national hockey players, who were served show-cause notices by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Saturday for signing up with an Indian company, have said they will not feature in any foreign league if that is a problem with the federation.

The PHF has asked forwards Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi and halfback Waseem Ahmed to explain their signing of contracts with an Indian company planning to start a league sometime next year.

A PHF press release issued on Saturday evening read: “The PHF has asked the players to clear their position regarding participation in an unsanctioned event by the FIH/Regional Association and national sports federation concerned latest by April 28, 2011.

“On receipt of their explanations, the PHF will take action, accordingly.

“In the line of PHF Executive Board’s decision — Lahore/March 16, 2011 — the PHF Discipline Committee will take stern action against these players for violation of the Code of Conduct.”

“We were not aware when we signed the papers that the forthcoming league event was not FIH-approved,” said Rehan Butt while speaking to Dawn on Saturday.

“Its letterhead itself read ‘FIH-approved’ so we thought it okay to sign it. It is only now that we hear that this was not the case,” he explained.

“And that not being the case, we will not play in the league since playing for Pakistan has always been a priority for us,” he added.

It is said that the Indian company has been signing hockey players from all over the world including those from Germany and Australia.

They already have 160 players under contract. The package being offered to these players is also quite attractive carrying an initial US$25,000 along with additional daily and transport allowances apart from the match-winning amounts.

Meanwhile, the other forward Shakeel Abbasi, too, is of the opinion that no step will be taken without the consent of the PHF.

“The event in question is still over a year away. From what we hear, the teams, too, are yet to be formed. And we only signed with the company in the impression that they were legal. We have no desire to be part of anything that is not approved by the FIH or the PHF.

“On the other hand if they do manage to get approval during this time and next year, things may be different. But the bottom line still remains that we aren’t going anywhere without an NOC from the PHF,” he concluded.

The three named are part of the 22 probables shortlisted for next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be played in Ipoh, Malaysia from May 5 to 15. All have been attending camp since the start of its second phase on April 20 at the Naseer Bunda Stadium in Islamabad.