ISLAMABAD Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday allocated Rs120 million to the Pakistan Hockey Federation as a special grant for the promotion of the national game, Dawn has learnt on authority.

'This special allocation has been made by the prime minister with a vision to reach the podium in the 2012 London Olympics and also to meet the rising financial needs of the federation,' a top official of the federal government said on Wednesday.

The national team has seen a consistent positive progress since the inception of the new management and also after the induction of Dutch consultant Wouter Tazelaar.

Pakistan has also climbed to second place in the men's Asian hockey ranking while the green shirts linger at number six in the World.

'The prime minister, also the patron of the PHF, wanted to see the national team create a stir in the upcoming 2010 World Cup,' the official said on condition of anonymity.

The special grant, he said, would be given in two instalments. He informed 'The first chunk of Rs60 million will be released within a month however, the second grant will likely be given in January 2010.'

'PHF President Qasim Zia along with Asif Bajwa has also met the senior officials of the government after getting the approval from the prime minister,' he said.

Asked to comment over the past awarded grants of the PHF and their transparency, he said the 'PHF has been funded by the patron on several instances and the current annual budget of the PHF will likely touch the Rs250 million mark,' adding, 'The Auditor General of Pakistan will shortly conduct the audit of the federation.'

'We don't need to have strict monitoring over the affairs of the PHF as the performance of the team and the current management is before the nation while media too is very much there to pinpoint the loop holes,' said the official.

The official informed that the national team would be visiting several international destinations to prepare for important international events.