PESHAWAR: The provincial government has planned to set up playgrounds and sports facilities in the recently merged tribal districts.

Talking to journalists here on Thursday, Sports Secretary Shahid Zaman said that government had formed a committee to plan various healthy activities for tribal people to recover them from the psychological effects of militancy.

Sports Director General Junaid Khan is head of the committee.

Mr Zaman said that government would establish sports facilities and upgrade the existing ones in 25 different tehsils of the tribal districts.

He said that besides establishing playgrounds, the government would organise grand tribal districts tournament in the end of January wherein eight to 10 popular games would be played and all players would be given proper kits and other facilities.

The official said that government was also facilitating tribal youth to come up with small projects as they had been enlisted already in the ongoing programme of ‘KP Impact Challenge’.

He said that Lahore University of Management Science had entered into a large-scale partnership with the provincial government for the entrepreneurial education initiative ‘KP Impact Challenge’.

He said that through the programme, youth would be provided with a training platform to transform their ideas into reality.

Referring to recent meetings with Planning and Development Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Fata Secretary Zubair Asghar Qureshi, Sports Director General Junaid Khan, Fata Sports Director Mohammad Nawaz Khan, Mr Zaman said that it was decided that government would ensure construction of stadiums in every tehsil of the tribal districts.

He said that sports gala would be organised in the merged areas from fourth week of January.

Speaking on the occasion, Junaid Khan said that total unit cost of the project, excluding cost of land, would be Rs20 million. He said that of the 25 tehsils, 19 had such facilities that would be upgraded.

He said that six new facilities would be established in Nawagai, Bajaur tribal district; Landi Kotal, Khyber tribal district; Upper and Lower Kurram; and Mirali and Razmaq in North Waziristan tribal district while six existing facilities would be upgraded.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2019