LAHORE: In a shocking revelation, the 2015-16 audit report released by the Auditor General of Pakistan revealed that five Pakistan hockey team officials twice received their rewards for winning the 2010 South Asian Games. Pakistan claimed gold at the sub-continent’s mega event by defeating arch-rivals India 4-3 on penalties in the final after the match ended 1-1 in normal and extra time. According to the reports, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) withdrew Rs1.945 million on March 22, 2011 as reward money for the five officials who travelled with the contingent to Bangladesh. The same amount, surprisingly, was again withdrawn on June 1, 2011 as reward money for the same officials for the same event.
When the auditors asked the PHF to give an explanation for the duplication of the withdrawal, the PHF gave no reply at the time and the matter went unnoticed. Four years later in the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting in October 2015, the matter was raised once again and the PHF authorities were directed to investigate the matter and share the findings with the audit committee besides providing the adjustment accounts for verification. However to date, no such findings has reached the audit committee, the report revealed. Meanwhile, in another case, it was revealed that the PHF sanctioned Rs1.212 million in February 2010 to allow a 48-person delegation to travel to India for the hockey team’s participation at the 2010 Hockey World Cup. Upon further inquiry, it was revealed that the total strength of the delegation comprised of 18 members and the rest were unauthorised personnel, for whom the PHF sanctioned the funds. Those personnel were neither journalists, experts nor players – they were people the PHF had invited from various departments to attend the World Cup.