KP govt has promised full support for National Games: Aqil

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association’s president Aqil Shah said on Friday that KP government had assured full support to his association for hosting the 33rd National Games which are expected to be held in Peshawar in October.

Shah on Thursday met the KP Sports Minister Atif Khan at the latter’s office and briefed him about the 33rd National Games which KP is going to host in October. “The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and Atif was very keen and positive and promised all-out support to both Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and KP Olympic Association in holding the biennial spectacle in the most befitting manner,” Shah told ‘The News’ from Peshawar on Friday.

“I told him that we should announce the dates as soon as possible as other provinces will have to contact their respective governments for funding and we also will have to make preparations,” said Shah, who is also the head of the POA Sports Commission.

Shah said that Atif would meet the Chief Minister in a few days after which they would be in a position to unveil the final dates. He said that this was his second meeting with Atif. He added that the KP CM had also responded positively at a meeting in the recent past.

The KP CM will be the patron of the organising committee. KP chief secretary will be its chairman. Shah said that other committees would also be formed, including media committee, which would be constituted through consensus with the KP Sports Writers Association.

He said that the torch relay would begin from Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi, pass through Quetta, Lahore, Punjab’s other cities, Islamabad, taken to Bab-e-Khyber, Torkham, and then be brought to Peshawar.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will be invited to the opening ceremony. The President will be invited to the closing ceremony. Quetta was to host the Games in April. But as Balochistan failed to make preparations well in time despite several postponements, POA opted to shift the event to KP. However, Balochistan was told to host the 34th edition of the National Games sometime next year.

National Games are going to be held at a time when Pakistan will be preparing for the 13th South Asian Games, slated to be hosted by Nepal in Kathmandu and Pokhara from December 1-10.

Shah intends to invite India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Iran for token participation in the Games. “If we get some sponsors we plan to invite these countries for token participation,” he said.

This is the seventh time that Peshawar will be hosting National Games. The city hosted the Games in 1958, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998 and 2010. In 2010, National Games were conducted in the most fragile security situation. Pakistan Army had played a key role in providing water-tight security to the participants.