Pakistan Hockey League: PHF allegedly faked procurement process

Federation confident of brushing aside accusations

KARACHI: A petition has been filed against the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Islamabad High Court by a private company who has raised questions regarding the procurement process of the first-ever Pakistan Hockey League (PHL), a PHF official has revealed.

As per the court papers, the federation has been accused of pre-planning the awarding of the inaugural league’s procurement rights to a company led by a Lahore-based local investor, who also owns a franchise in the Pakistan Super League.



It further alleges that the staging of the tendering process was effectively a sham to conceal PHF’s dirty work.

Meanwhile, PHF President Brigadier (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar has claimed that there was no real interest in tendering for the PHL and that the federation only received one bid, following which it was decided to discard the process.





“This is our first ever league and we don’t want any hurdles in its way. This petition is nothing but a ploy against the federation to delay the league,” said Khokhar.

“The league would be held as per schedule because there is nothing serious in the petition filed with the IHC. We will answer it with facts and reasoning.”



He also said that the recently concluded 5-a-side hockey tournament was a success and with the PHL, the federation will take the next giant leap towards its long-term target of reviving the national sport.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2016.

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