Stalls attract many at Swat Cultural Festival

MINGORA: The local dress and cultural stalls attracted a large number of people at the Swat Cultural Festival held at the Saidu Sharif Airport on Friday.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Khalid Saeed, Brig Naseem and other officials were present on the occasion. Children of Army Public School (APS) Swat showed excellent performances during the inaugural ceremony of the festival. The event was organised by Army division, Malakand. Local elders, students, civil society members, cultural activists, officials from the district administration, educationist, local government representatives, writers and a large number of youth attended the event. Talking to the media, the wife of the GOC said that without women empowerment the dream of a developed and prosperous Pakistan could not be fulfilled. “It’s a moment of happiness and pride that the local women have displayed their handicrafts. We need to appreciate women entrepreneur,” she maintained, adding that for peaceful Swat the local have rendered sacrifices along with the security forces.

The participants were kept spellbound by folk music, local dress and cultural stalls. People from various walks of life showed deep interest in various stalls that included embroidery, handicrafts and antiques, artificial jewelry, bangles, face painting, and woodworks. “I have established this handicrafts stall. Most of the products are handmade by widows, orphans and helpless women of this area,” said 23-year-old Sana Rahim.

The organisers said that the event was aimed at providing recreational and trade opportunity to the conflict-affected people of the district.