Pakistan's national men's hockey team has ended its boycott and agreed to participate in the second round of the FIH Hockey Men's Pro League after the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) agreed to pay their allowances. The players had been protesting for a fortnight, refusing to attend training camp due to the lack of payments.

The PHF Secretary, Rana Mujahid, met with the players in Islamabad and assured them that they would receive the promised $114 USD (approximately 30,000 PKR) in daily allowances for the upcoming matches in Hobart, Australia in February.

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), which has provided the PHF with 250 million PKR for the Pro League, had expressed reservations about the arrangements and lack of payments during the first round of the League in December of last year. They directed the PHF to clear all player dues within a week.

A player told www.telecomasia.net that the agreement was only for the second round of the Pro League, with no promises made regarding outstanding payments. The player stated, "We have done everything to save this tour, but PHF has not relented. This is a very disappointing situation, as hockey is our bread and butter".

Adding to the positive turn, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) announced it would pay a daily allowance of $115 per player to members of the national hockey team. The PSB has directed its finance department to release the payments before the team departs to ensure players do not face any inconvenience during their international assignment. Muhammad Yasir Pirzada, Director General of PSB, said the daily allowance had been approved in line with the government-sanctioned budget and covers Pakistan's participation in the FIH Pro League. He added that the PSB managed the payments by reallocating funds saved from various areas, despite financial constraints, to facilitate the team's foreign tour and ensure smooth arrangements for the players.

Pakistan hockey team captain Ammad Butt welcomed the announcement and thanked the DG PSB for addressing the players' concerns. He stated that discussions had yielded positive results and that the revised rate approved under the current government budget was reasonable.

The team is scheduled to play Australia on February 10 and 13 and Germany on February 11 and 14 in the second round of the Pro League. Pakistan qualified for the Pro League despite finishing second in the FIH Nations Cup last year, as New Zealand withdrew due to a lack of funds. In the first round, Pakistan lost all four matches against the Netherlands and Argentina.

Pakistan, a four-time world and three-time Olympic champion, has not qualified for the Olympics since 2012.

The team will depart for Australia on February 2nd. Ali Raza replaces Abdullah Ishtiaq, and Umair Sattar joins the team in place of Mannan Raza. The national contingent consists of 20 players and six officials.

The full squad includes Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Ali Raza, Arshad Liaqat, Mohammad Abdullah, Sufyan Khan, Arbaz Ahmed, Hammad Anjum, Moin Shakeel, Ghazanfar Ali, Zakaria Liaqat, Umair Sattar, Hannan Shahid, Rana Waheed, Nadeem Ahmed, Abdul Rehman, Rana Waleed, Afraz, and Abu Bakar. The team officials are Head Coach Tahir Zaman, Mohammad Usman, Zeeshan Ashraf, Nadeem Lodhi, Mohammad Aslam, and Adeel.