A bailiff from the Civil Court attempted to arrest Rana Mujahid, the secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday due to his repeated absences from court hearings related to a case filed by former PHF secretary Haider Hussain.
Haider, who filed the case last year, claims he is the legitimate secretary of the federation and alleges that Mujahid has unlawfully occupied the position.
At 2:00 PM, the bailiff entered the PHF offices seeking Mujahid’s whereabouts in order to arrest him for not attending the civil court hearings. However, Mujahid was in Islamabad, where the National Junior Hockey Championship is currently taking place.
The leadership of the PHF has been mired in controversy. Tariq Hussain Bugti took charge as PHF president under contentious circumstances last year, while the previous president, retired Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, maintained he was the rightful leader of the federation.
Khokhar asserted that Haider had resigned, a claim Haider denied, leading him to seek a stay order from the civil court against Khokhar’s assertions.
Despite the court’s ruling, Khokhar appointed Mujahid as PHF secretary, replacing Haider. Eventually, Bugti was appointed as PHF president by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, and he reinstated Haider as secretary.
However, after meeting with Khokhar in Islamabad, Bugti reportedly received Khokhar’s withdrawal of his claim to the PHF presidency.
As a result, Bugti became the sole claimant to the PHF leadership. Reports suggest that Khokhar agreed not to work with Haider, who has been pursuing an investigation into numerous corruption cases involving PHF officials. With around 111 pending cases related to financial misconduct against past officials, the situation remains complex.
Mujahid’s failure to appear in court has led to the latest arrest warrant. In a press conference shortly after, Bugti defended Mujahid, stating he held two PHF Congress meetings that endorsed Mujahid as secretary, although Haider contested the legitimacy of those meetings, claiming no representatives from Sindh and Balochistan were present. Bugti also mentioned that the daily allowances for national team players would be cleared soon and announced a team tour to China in November.
