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Phf Chief Renews Demand For Apology Back To Main

Otherwise, Qasim Zia says, former Olympians will have to face PHF in court

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey chief Qasim Zia has warned former Olympians, who have levelled serious allegations against the national federation, to either file an apology or face defamation suits.

Angered by the allegations, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President, made it clear on Wednesday that only an unconditional apology from the former stalwarts, would stop him from taking them to court.

Former Pakistan captain Shehnaz Sheikh wrote a letter to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani — PHF’s chief patron — on behalf of 12 other ex-Olympians — Khalid Mahmood, Islahuddin Siddiqui, Saleem Sherwani, Samiullah, Shahbaz Ahmed Senior, Saleem Nazim, Qamar Ibrahim, Qamar Zia, Saeed Khan, Ayaz Mehmood, Tahir Zaman and Naveed Alam — urging him to remove the inefficient PHF set-up.

In his letter, Shehnaz also raised other issues that including charges of hum-trafficking against top PHF officials. The PHF responded by issuing legal notices to eight of those Olympians, asking for an unconditional apology. The Olympians have filed their answers to the notices but have refrained from apologising for the letter.

“There is no third way out. Either they (former Olympians) are telling the truth or we are the honest party. If we are wrong then we should be punished but if they are wrong and they have put forward baseless serious allegations against us then either they extend unconditional apology or let the court take a decision,” Qasim Zia, who is himself a former Olympian, told media on Wednesday at the Hockey Club of Pakistan.

Qasim said that he couldn’t let it go in the pages of history that in his tenure as PHF chief, the federation illegally sent people out of the country and also that he ran the federation unconstitutionally.

Qasim also labelled former Olympians — especially Islahuddin Siddiqui and Ayaz Mehmood — as hypocrites, claiming that at one hand they shook hands with him and sat with him for hours in his office during the Pakistan-China Test series and on the other hand, a couple of days later they sent a ‘malicious’ letter to the premier against the federation.

However, Qasim added that the former Olympians possess the right to criticise the federation about its policies or performance of the national team. “It is the right of former Olympians to criticise the policies of PHF, performance of the team and results. But they cannot be allowed to defame the federation and the country. Because no matter how big a name is nobody is allowed to defame our country,” Qasim said.

Meanwhile, Qasim stressed that his hopes are high and he feels Pakistan would finish among the top four teams in the Olympic Games in London later this year. “I am hopeful that the team would reach semifinals of Olympics 2012. All is in the hands of Allah and hopefully the team would play well in London,” he said.