15- day Dir Upper Sports & Culture Festival to kick off on Aug 14

PESHAWAR: The 15-day Dir Upper Sports and Culture Festival in connection with the Independence Day will commence on August 14 at the Dir Upper Sports Complex.

According to District Nazim Dir Upper Sahibzada Fassih Ullah, this was the 4th sports and culture festival, which was being organized by the District Government and District Administration in collaboration with the District Sports Officer Dir Upper.

Talking to APP on Sunday, he said all the arrangements have been made to hold the festival in a befitting manner.

Sahibzada Fassih Ullah said T20 cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, badminton, athletics, tug of war, martial arts, including Taekwondo, Judo, Karate and Wushu, snooker and hockey competitions would be part of the annual festival.

He said the festival was arranged to involve the youth of Dir Upper in healthy sports and cultural activities.

Besides the locals, players of different sports from all across Pakistan would also take part in the competitions, he added.

He said there was no dearth of talent in the youth of Dir Upper and many players of martial arts, cricket, football, volleyball, hockey and other games had played at national and international levels.

Accompanied with DSO Mukhtiar Hussain, the district nazim said said more than 2,000 players were expected to take part in the festival.

Draws for each of the sporting disciplines were expected to take place on August 13 at the festival venue, he added.

He said the outstation teams would reach Dir Upper in the morning on August 13 and the draws of would be opened in the evening.

He said the formal opening ceremony of the festival would be held on August 14 at 6.30 pm.

A firework display along with culture programmes in connection with the Independence Day would also mark the occasion, he added.

He said a digital screen would also be installed in the sports complex for the general public while most of the events would be played under the floodlight.

Mukhtiar Hussain said the festival had attracted 75 teams from across the country, which included players like Lahore Qalander''s Bilawal, Pakistan Under-19 skipper Kamran Ghulam, international cricketer Fawad Khan and Afghan player Shafiq Ullah Shafiq.

He said traditional games would also be part of the event.

The winners and runners-up teams would also be given attractive cash prizes with trophies and certificates.

Mukhtiar Hussain thanked Pakistan Army Commander Brig Aamir Yasin for extending all out support in making the festival success.

When contacted, Brig Aamir Yasin expressed the hope that the Dir Upper Sports and Culture Festival would be a big success.

The people of Dir Upper, he said, were peace loving and the purpose of holding the festival was to provide them a healthy entertainment.