Pakistan Festival begins with colourful activities in Orakzai

HANGU: A two-day colourful festival was kicked off to mark Pakistan Day in Kalaya, the headquarters of Orakzai tribal district, on Tuesday.

Organised by the Orakzai Scouts, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, the inaugural ceremony was attended by general officer commanding 9-Division Major-General Akif Iqbal, Orakzai Deputy Commissioner Asif Rahim, District Police Officer Nisar Ahmad Khan, Commandant Orakzai Scouts Roy Kashif Amin and others.

Speaking on the occasion, Major-General Akif Iqbal and Deputy Commissioner Asif Rahim said that tribespeople, police and security forces had rendered matchless sacrifices for the restoration of peace in the region.

They said that the decision of our ancestors to demand a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent was justified on the Pakistan Resolution Day on March 23, 1940.

They lauded the services and sacrifices of the tribesmen in the making of Pakistan, saying the dream of achieving a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent would have not materialised if the tribesmen had not played their vital role in the freedom movement.

The officials added that Orakzai had an enormous beauty, which would be developed to promote tourism and sports activities in the region.

Earlier, the officials cut the ribbon and formally inaugurated the Pakistan Festival. The festival is showcasing traditional music, games and foods, handicrafts, cultural items, military, Rescue 1122 and police gadgets.

Later, the GOC gave away wheelchairs to the physically challenged persons on the occasion. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Social Welfare Department had arranged the wheelchairs for the