PESHAWAR: At least six people sustained injuries from stray bullets in Mardan district as celebrations erupted after Pakistan beat their archrivals India in the ICC Champions Trophy final in England on Sunday night.

Pakistan’s win sparked celebrations in the provincial capital and other parts of the province.

Many parts of the provincial capital erupted into jubilations as revelers took to the streets following the fall of last Indian wicket.

People in some areas of KP, Fata complain they couldn’t watch match due to power cuts

Cricket fans who had gathered in several parts of the city to watch Champions Trophy finals on big screens danced and cheered for the green shirts.

A large number of people had gathered at the Stadium Chowk locality of the Peshawar Cantonment, where a big screen was installed. Also Qayyum Staidum Sports Complex arranged to show the match on big screen to the cricket enthusiasts.

The provincial capital resounded with the celebratory fire and fireworks soon after the Pakistan win.

In Mardan, a large number of people and media personnel gathered at the residence of batsman Fakhar Zaman in Katlang tehsil.

The revelers fired shots in the air, set off fireworks and distributed sweets to celebrate the Pakistan’s win over their archrivals India.

Gohar Zaman, the batsman’s brother, told reporters that they were overjoyed over Pakistan’s win. “Fakhar played very well and everybody is delighted with his performance,” he said.

He said that they would give rousing welcome to Fakhar upon his return to the country.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak congratulated the Pakistan cricket team on their historic win against India. “What a glorious win. Allahmdollilah. Good job team Pakistan and especially the skipper Sarfarz. Well-deserved win green shirts,” Mr Khattak wrote on his Twitter handle.

At the same time people in some other parts of the province and Fata complained that prolonged loadshedding did not allow them to watch this crucial match.

Residents in Charsadda criticised Pesco for not adhering to the prime minister’s announcement of not carrying out loadshedding during the final match of the Champions Trophy. They said that Pesco authorities did not pay heed and deprived them of watching the match.

Also cricket fans in Bajaur tribal agency on Sunday complained that they were unable to watch ICC Champions Trophy final match on TV screens as a PTV booster in the region remained shut due to unknown reasons.

Scores of cricket fans of several areas of the agency told Dawn that they were deprived of watching the final match.

Ahmed Khan, a resident of Sadiqabad town in Khar tehisl, said he was very excited to watch the final match on TV as it was the most thrilling event in the history of the cricket.

However, he said closure of PTV booster in the region spoilt the show.

The cricket fans claimed that they did not watch any match of ICC Champions Trophy on TV screens as the PTV sports transmission had been suspended in the agency since along owing to the shutting down of PTV booster.

The cricket fans said not being able to watch Pakistan-India final match had greatly disappointed them.

They said they had taken all measures to ensure uninterruptible power supply during the match by arranging generators, adding they did not know why the PTV booster was not made functional for this all-important match.

The cricket fans criticised the management of PTV for not operating the booster despite the assurance to make it functional for the match.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2017