Islamabad, February 20, 2026: The Sub-Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination has expressed serious concern over the challenges facing the national hockey team and announced plans to seek a detailed briefing on the issue.
The meeting, held at Parliament House under the convenership of Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto, was attended by the Ad-hoc President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, Federal Secretary IPC Mohyuddin Wani, the Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board, and other committee members. Participants voiced deep concern over the current state of hockey in the country.
Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto described the situation as unfortunate, emphasizing the committee’s commitment to identifying those responsible for mismanagement. “Our hearts beat for hockey just as they do for cricket. We will determine who is responsible for ruining our sports,” she remarked.
Committee member Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan criticized both the Pakistan Sports Board and the Pakistan Hockey Federation for failing in their duties. He proposed convening a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss hockey-related issues and requested that the inquiry report submitted to the committee be presented.
Officials briefed the sub-committee on the status of development projects. They revealed that the Biomechanical Lab project, launched in 2014, remains incomplete. The hockey astroturf project in Gilgit took 15 years to finish, with costs rising from Rs35 million to Rs123 million.
The Narowal Sports City project, initiated in 2012, was halted in 2018, with its estimated cost escalating from Rs732 million to Rs6 billion before being transferred to the Higher Education Commission. Officials explained that the increase was due to upgrades aimed at meeting international standards.
Reacting to these revelations, Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto termed the situation a “tragedy,” expressing alarm that key projects remained incomplete despite the passage of many years. She highlighted that Narowal, the constituency of Ahsan Iqbal, still awaited completion of the Sports City project. She added that, despite substantial funding, the Pakistan Sports Board had failed to deliver on critical initiatives, underscoring the need for urgent accountability and corrective measures.
