Karachi, February 19 The crisis in Pakistani hockey deepened on Thursday as the national federation's President Tariq Bugti resigned following the mismanagement that left players stranded during a recent tour of Australia, but not before imposing a two-year ban on captain Ammad Shakeel Butt for his criticism of the PHF.
Bugti said he had sent his resignation to the patron-in-chief of the federation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
"I have sent my resignation letter to the PM, but I urge him and Field Marshal Asim Munir to conduct an impartial inquiry into the whole situation that took place in Australia during the FIH Pro League hockey," he said.
Bugti said that one of his final acts as President was "to impose a two-year ban on the national team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt from domestic and international hockey for bringing Pakistan hockey into disrepute."
Butt had lashed out at the PHF in Lahore on Wednesday, stating that players were forced "to clean the kitchen and wash dishes" before competing during the tour, in which the team lost all its matches in the FIH Pro League against the home team and Germany.
This followed their spending hours on the road after the hotel designated for them refused them entry due to a lack of advance payment by the PHF, despite the body having received the necessary funds from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
After returning to the country, at least nine players, led by Butt, demanded the removal of the team management and the current PHF leadership.
Butt also alleged that a majority of the players had not received their daily allowances from the PSB and PHF for the past year.
Bugti blamed the PSB for the fiasco, insisting that the Board had handled all the arrangements for the tour and was "responsible for whatever happened there."
However, when asked about a cheque of one million rupees that the PSB had sent to the PHF to cover hotel accommodation expenses, he did not offer a clear response.
In another development, the team's head coach, Tahir Zaman, said he was ready to step down.
He accused the players of being indisciplined and alleged that the captain "freely used abusive language against others, which in turn affected the performance of the team."
Pakistan has to travel to Egypt after four months to take part in the final qualifying tournament for the World Cup.
