Things get messy as ‘parallel’ PFF takes over headquarters

KARACHI: As expected, Pakistan football crisis deepened on Saturday when the so-called parallel Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) under the leadership of Arshad Khan Lodhi and Col Farasat Ali Shah took possession of PFF headquarters in Lahore by expelling staff of the FIFA-recognised PFF.
Sources said several persons, clad in civil clothes with a few guards with them, entered the PFF House at 4:20pm on Saturday and asked the PFF secretary Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi and his staff to leave the house immediately.
“My staff and I were told to leave the house at around 4:20pm. I cannot say how many people had entered the house but I saw col Farasat, Rana Ashraf and Mehmood Khalid and a few others. At this stage, I cannot say more but surely we will lodge an FIR after Iftar,” PFF secretary Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi told ‘The News’.
The other day in Islamabad, the so-called PFF extraordinary Congress had been convened and it was later announced that they had suspended the PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat and dismissed the services of Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi.
They had also announced that former MNA Kashmala Tariq had been made as chairperson of the PFF women wing. Kashmala later also held a press conference.
Although the PFF sources said that the group who raided the PFF House was laced with arms. However Col Farasat denied this.
“We did not have any arms with us. We peacefully took charge. The other day in Islamabad we held an extraordinary congress meeting in which we had the support of 17 members and we took the step of taking the charge as per constitution,” Farasat told this correspondent.
“Nothing unpleasant happened. Lodhi peacefully gave us the charge and went home. Lodhi left his two brief cases which will be sent to his home. Nobody was manhandled. I had with me Arshad Khan Lodhi, Rana Ashraf and Mehmood Khalid,” said Farasat, who was made the parallel PFF secretary in the Islamabad meeting.
The PFF chief Faisal Saleh Hayat reacted strongly to the incident.
“It is a blatant violation of rules and an act of terrorism,” Faisal told ‘The News’.
“Our senior officials and other staff members were beaten and manhandled. Is this the way to run sports?” Faisal said.
“They resorted to this after the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected their petitions. Police and local administration were fully behind the occupation. Since the incident took place we have been telling police but they are not taking any action,” Faisal added.
“It does not mean that we cannot reciprocate. They have taken the game to such a level which seems absolutely repugnant,” the PFF president said.
“Sports Board Punjab (SBP), Col Farasat, Ali Noor Niazi, Rana Ashraf and Hafiz Salman Butt are actively involved in all these actions,” he alleged.
Faisal questioned how 200 armed men entered the house located at a highly sensitive area of the Punjab capital.
“It is a clear indication of the government’s involvement in these acts,” he said.
However, Faisal made it clear that the incident would not affect the June 30 PFF elections at Changla Galli.
“It will not affect the elections,” said Faisal, who will face Syed Zahir Shah in the elections.
“We will go till the end. Our three senior officials Col Ahmed Yar Lodhi, Major Mohammad Jehangir and Pervez Saeed Mir are injured. First of all, I will ask about their health and then we surely will lodge an FIR. We will seek justice. Elections are being changed into a war which is not good,” he said.
When asked whether the PFF would inform FIFA about what happened.
“There is no need to inform FIFA as they have already been monitoring the situation,” Faisal said.
Following a controversial April 17 PFA elections, PFF issued a notification on April 18 and declared Sardar Naved Haider as the new PFA president. Arshad Lodhi group challenged it in the Lahore High Court (LHC). The LHC asked Sports Board Punjab (SBP) to probe the issue. The Board, as directed, recorded statements of Arshad Lodhi Group. The other group did not respond as it was of the view that the SBP was not entitled to handle the issue. On May 13, Arshad Lodhi Group held elections in which Rana Ashraf was elected as PFA president and Mehmood Khalid as secretary.
The SBP then submitted the election result to the LHC. The PFF then went for intra-court appeal against the elections, which according to sources was rejected. The PFF filed another appeal in the same court and claims that it had decided the case in the favour of federation.