KARACHI, July 19: Pakistan hockey woes mounted here on Wednesday when Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Brig Musarrat Ullah Khan decided to step down following a rollercoaster six-year tenure.

The PHF secretary, facing criticism for what many believe was an unprofessional handling of game’s affairs in the country, tendered his resignation to PHF chief Tariq Kirmani prior to his appearance before Senate’s Standing Committee on Sports.

Kirmai said Musarrat will continue till September which will give him time to find a suitable candidate for the nomination for the post. “I will nominate a person for the election. At the moment, I have few names in my mind. But the person will not be from among those who give critical statements. Since I hardly gets time for hockey, it will be somebody having hockey background and who will not be controversial.”

Although Kirmani did not name the nominees, there are strong indications that Akhtarul Islam, the current selector, will replace Musarrat. However, it will definitely be an odd choice since Akhtar has been in Pakistan hockey for the first time since he retired almost three decades ago.

Akhtar, a close friend of Musarrat, has for the first time returned to Pakistan hockey last November when he was appointed selector.

While Kirmani made the whole thing look simple by saying that Musarrat was calling it quits due to health reasons, the secretary’s decision was a foregone conclusion since he was facing a barrage of criticism for abysmal show of the national hockey squad during his tenure.

He was under immense pressure from former hockey stalwarts and experts to quit and he was mainly accused of adopting a wrong approach towards the handling of the game’s affairs which resulted in shameful defeats at major international events for Pakistan.

Hinting at his plans of leaving the most powerful seat in the PHF soon, Mussarrat told the Standing Committee on Sports on July 3 that he would not be running for the office for a third time.

“Firstly, he (Musarrat) had already announced that he won’t be running for election this year in November. Secondly, he was serving as secretary for some five and a half years. Now he is tired and has some health problems which is the reason he submitted his resignation today. He has not resigned on my instructions,” Kirmani told Dawn.

While Gen Aziz Khan took over as PHF chief on July 5, 2000, Musarrat was “nominated” by the general as secretary, replacing former Olympian Brig Manzoor Hussain Atif who was sacked by the then PHF president Arif Ali Abbasi who was also later removed by Pakistan Sports Board.

It is an open secret that since Gen Aziz was busy in his professional duties, it was Musarrat who was very much at the helm, running Pakistan hockey affairs almost single-handedly.

Pakistan, once a hockey powerhous, struggled to hold a place in top five during the past six years and failed to win any major title because of absolute lack of vision among the top officials.

Be it Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur or Manchester Commonwealth Games, Pakistan gave pathetic performances under Gen Aziz and Musarrat who made haphazard, short-term decisions in order to regain past glory.

Pakistan barely managed fourth position at Sydney Games and finished a poor fifth at World Cup, while a 7-1 thrashing in a crucial Commonwealth Games by minnows New Zealand – which was the worst-ever defeat in the history at the hands of Black Caps -- rocked Pakistan hockey.

More ignominy was in store for Pakistan when they were returned from 2002 Busan Asian Games without any medal for the first time in history. To put the game back on track, Dutchman Roelant Oltmans was appointed coach barely ten months before 2004 Athens Olympics. But the result remained unchanged.

Apart from the expensive hiring of Oltmans, PHF also engaged three other foreigners – the goalkeepers’ trainer Ronald Jansen, video analyst Roberto Tolentino and physiotherapist Derk Verder – spending a total of approximately 164,900 euros (Rs12,697,300) per year.

Surrounded by a band of opportunists, Musarrat also kept playing musical chairs with the officials, appointing unworthy officials as team manager and coach who were subsequently sacked for their failure. Former stalwarts such as Abdul Rashid Jr, Samiullah, Shehnaz Sheikh, Ayaz Mahmood, Col, Zafar Ahmad were among the few who walked out of the PHF set-up due to Mussarrat’s unprofessional conduct.

To top it all, it was human trafficking scandal which really jolted Pakistan hockey when a PHF director administration Capt Mukhtar Ali was sacked for sending unauthorized people to Europe along with Pakistan team.

A huge furore was created by Senate’s Standing Committee on Sports which blamed Musarrat for the visa racket.