Pakistan People’s Party MNA Syeda Shehla Raza was elected unanimously as the first-ever female president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation Congress unanimously voted in favor of PPP MNA Syeda Shehla Raza but it seems like there is a clear divide in PHF, as reports suggest that PPP Senate candidate Tariq Masoori Bugti is going to make a separate faction in the PHF and will head that faction separate from the Shehla Raza led PHF.
According to reports, there are internal party issues, that have evoked a faction within the setup of the PHF that does not agree with the appointment of PPP MNA Shehla Raza and the two parties are not willing to negotiate with each other.
Khalid Sajjad Khokhar was previously the president of PHF and he has been heading the federation since 2015 but in December 2023, former caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar Ul Haq Kakar appointed Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti as the president of the federation, and the decision was challenged in High Court by his predecessor Khalid Sajjad Khokhar.
Pakistan Hockey heading towards parallel federation. PM @CMShehbaz as Patron should intervene and avoid this mess, the sports has already suffered enough. https://t.co/zsYzuw2Jnj
— FootballPakistan.com (@FootballPak) March 19, 2024
The Former premier of the country,  Anwaar Ul Haq Kakar endorsed that the list of candidates should be identified by the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Ministry so that the new PHF President can be elected.
Anwaar Ul Haq Kakar issued directives that the list of candidates should be issued within a week so that a suitable candidate can be elected by the PHF congress.
Previously we have seen this happen in the Pakistan Football Federation as well when Faisal Saleh Hayat was in PPP and also the president of the Pakistan Football Federation and Zahir Shah who was also a member of the same political party tried to dethrone his cousin Ashfaq Hussain Shah in the latter stages of his presidency.
In 2021, Ashfaq Hussain Shah, cousin of Zahir Shah, attacked the Haroon Malik-led PFFÂ Normalisation Committee and halted all football activities in Pakistan.
For now, it seems like the Pakistan Hockey Federation is heading towards parallel federations as well and it can go through the same mess that the PFF has gone through over the last 9 years, sports has already suffered a lot in Pakistan but it seems like people in power and the premier of the country, have their focus on something else.
What these MNAs have to do with hockey?. These politicians have no shame left. They are dragging Pakistan into an abyss. Why politicians are trying to become PHF president?
It is better not to have any democracy than this type of fake meritless democracy.