The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has begun in Chitral at the world’s highest polo ground, attracting a large number of tourists from around the world, including Pakistan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi attended the opening ceremony as the chief guest. During the festival, teams from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan competed in traditional polo matches, while spectators thoroughly enjoyed the thrilling contests.
On this occasion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that the promotion of tourism is the government’s top priority.
He added that meetings will be held with the federal government and the National Highway Authority (NHA) regarding the provision of roads and other basic facilities to improve access to tourist destinations, including Shandur. The governor said that full support is being provided to polo players and praised the Tourism Department for successfully organising the festival despite limited resources.
Kundi stated that the government would also promote the traditional sport of Buzkashi and announced plans to introduce additional initiatives to attract more tourists to Chitral.
He further said that Chitral Airport would be inaugurated soon, which would improve connectivity and boost tourism in the region.
The Governor added that he would take up the issue of road restoration with the National Highway Authority and would also recommend measures to the provincial government for improving road infrastructure in the area.
Special Assistant for Tourism Malik Adil Iqbal said that the tourism industry in the province will be further promoted in line with the vision of the party leadership.
Provincial Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan and Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Tourism Adil Malik were also present on the occasion.
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