MINGORA: The youth of the blind community in Swat here on Friday demanded of the government to provide them with sports facilities as they wanted to use their talent for the country on international level.

They were speaking at the concluding ceremony of cricket series for special persons organized by the Association for Blinds, Swat, in collaboration with SPS College at Rahimabad. Additional deputy commissioner Mohammad Tahir, social welfare officer Asif Khan, and SPS college principal Qazi Khalil attended the final event. Blind cricket teams from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the series. The final match was won by the Swat Blind Cricket Club by defeating All KP Blind Cricket Club.

“We love cricket and we have some best players here in Swat, but unfortunately we have very few opportunities to play game,” captain of the winning team Bawar Khan said.

He said that his team wanted to play on the national level. “Defeating the provincial level team means we have high talent for cricket,” he said, adding that the government should organise sports events for the blinds of Swat. Zafar Ali Khan, a social worker, said that the event was aimed at getting the Swat Blind Cricket Club registered with the Pakistan Association of the Blinds. He said that the club deserved to be registered with the Pakistan Association for Blinds.

Mohammad Tahir said that he enjoyed the final match. “I did not even think that they are visually impaired people playing cricket. I salute them that despite challenges in their lives these people live a normal life and play cricket of high standard,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2018