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‘Shandur Polo Festival to go ahead’, Minister

PESHAWAR, 18 June 09: : "Shandur Polo Festival 2009 will be held this year according to plans and this year’s event would be dedicated to the martyred soldiers of the ongoing operation in Malakand Divison, particularly those belonging to Chitral and Gilgit areas. The event would honour the families of those courageous soldiers who sacrificed their lives so there can be peace and stability in the rest of the country” This was stated by Minister for Sports, Tourism, Culture Syed Aqil Shah while chairing a preliminary meeting to discuss arrangements for the upcoming event.

“Shandur Polo is a traditional festive game which is played annually between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit since many years. It is played on the roof of the world and the game tests the bravery and courage of the players to the limit. We need to raise the morale of the public. Let us as a nation, draw inspiration from the spirit of this sport and remain undeterred and face the current challenges faced by our country with determination” he added.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of Population Welfare Saleem Khan, Secretary Sports and Culture Sahibzada Fazle Amin, MD STC Muhammad Azam Khan, Col Kiyani of Frontier Corps, DCO Chitral Mohtasim Billa, Event Managers Siraj ul Mulk & Maqsood ul Mulk besides others.

The meeting unanimously agreed to make every effort to make this year’s festival successful. All the participants representing various departments assured the minister of their cooperation and appreciated the positive posture adopted by the government and Sarhad Tourism Corporation in this regard.

On this occasion, an organizing committee to oversee Shandur arrangements was formed under the chairmanship of Provincial Minister Saleem Khan. Some of the other members of the committee are DCO Chitral (Secretary), Event Manager, Minister Sports (member), GM STC, reps of FC, District Government and Northern Areas etc. Complete list of members would be released later.

Syed Aqil Shah said he will have a meeting with the Chief Minister tomorrow and also hold a press conference afterwards to formally announce the festival. He directed the participants to add more fanfare to the festival this year and make utmost security arrangements. He said he had taken everybody on board regarding the decision to hold Shandur Festival and cautioned that the country could not allow losing any further sporting venues to insecurity and lawlessness as had happened in the case of cricket, it was damaging the country’s image, he said.

It may be recalled that recently Syed Aqil Shah was instrumental in organizing a unique sports tournament for children in the IDP camps which was a tremendous success and appreciated by everyone. --(STC press release)

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