LAHORE, Jan 14: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Sunday inaugurated a mixed marathon in the teeth of fierce criticism from religious parties that saw red over the participation of women athletes in the sporting event.

The marathon, which was first held in 2005 and was attended by an eruption of riots in Gujranwala, passed off peacefully.

“It’s beyond me why extremists are against healthy activities like sporting events,” said President Musharraf in a brief talk with newsmen at the Punjab stadium.

“The huge participation of people in the marathon has sent a message to the extremists that most Pakistanis do not see eye to eye with them on their hatred against healthy activities. This event has helped in creating a soft image of our country.”

The marathon, in which some 30,000 men and women athletes participated from Pakistan and 15 other countries, carried a total cash prize of $115,000.

The president said the Basant sprint festival would also be celebrated in the same spirit. He said the festival, set to begin on Feb 25, would also project Pakistan’s image in the world.

Religious parties oppose the Basant spring festival saying that kite-flying in un-Islamic.

Ameerul Azeem, a spokesman for Jamaat-i-Islami, told the AFP news agency that protests by religious parties compelled the government to hold “segregated” marathons.

“We are not against women taking up a sport, but their participation in mixed events with men is not acceptable,” Mr Azeem said, adding that his party had not planned any disruption of the race this year.

While the people of Lahore took a keen interest in the sporting events, they had little appetite for long races, with the result that foreigners walked off with a large chunk of the $115,000 cash prize.