New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) The newly appointed interim president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, has lifted the two-year ban on the national team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt.

Amid allegations of mismanagement during the national hockey team’s participation in the second leg of the FIH Pro League in Hobart, Australia, outgoing PHF chief Tariq Hussain Bugti imposed a two-year ban on captain Ammad Butt before stepping down from his post.

On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted Bugti’s resignation and appointed the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Federal Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani as ad-hoc president of the federation.

The development came amid controversy over the Pakistan national team’s tour of Australia, where accommodation arrangements could not be secured on time, forcing players to spend several hours on the road.

However, Pakistan captain Ammad Butt, in a video statement, had earlier refuted claims that the team was left without any hotel accommodation or forced onto the streets. But players have expressed discomfort over their daily TA/DA allowance of USD 40 from the PSB, which falls short of the USD 100 stipulated in PHF regulations.

On Friday, the interim president of PHF Wani announced the revocation of Butt’s ban, stating that transparency and fairness would guide all decisions under his tenure, the Dawn reported.

Pakistan have lost all of their FIH Pro League so far, and their overall performance also came under criticism. The report further stated that after Bugti’s resignation, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the hockey players, including Ammad Butt.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Butt said Naqvi told him there was no ban and that the same team that toured Australia would travel to Egypt.

–IANS

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