CS says facilities being provided to players

PESHAWAR: Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz on Saturday said that the government would spare no effort to provide supports facilities to the people.

Talking to reporters at the opening ceremony of the National Junior Under-16 Hockey Championship, he said that facilities would be provided to players from across the country besides arranging tours of the historic places in Peshawar.

Secretary Sports Abid Majeed, Director General Sports KP Asfandyar Khan Khattak, Director Prime Minister 1000 Project Murad Ali Mohmand, former IGP Muhammad Saeed Khan, President KP Hockey Association Syed Zahir Shah, Director Operation Syed Saqlain Shah, officials and players were present.

He said efforts were afoot to hold some PSL matches in Peshawar, adding that work on Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium and Cricket Ground at Hayatabad Sports Complex was continuing in accordance with the requirement of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan Cricket Board.

The teams of Pakistan Cricket Board and International Cricket Council representative in Pakistan also visited the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium and Hayatabad Cricket Ground and expressed satisfaction over the pace of work there.

He also met with hockey Olympians Manzoor Junior, Khalid Hamid and Rahim Khan and lauded their services for hockey in Pakistan.

The chief secretary said that Peshawar was one of the oldest cities in the world which had its own history and culture. He said that a tour would be arranged for the players to visit the historic places in Peshawar.

Kazim Niaz said that Pakistan had a high position in hockey which was achieved by our players with a lot of hard work.

To a question, the chief secretary said that additional construction expenses have been sought for Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium.

He said that efforts were being made to complete work on Hayatabad Sports Complex as soon as possible so that some matches of the upcoming Pakistan Super League could be held in Peshawar as well.