GILGIT: Competitions of alpine skiing, snow boarding, ice hockey and ice skating are under way in the picturesque valley of Naltar in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The winter sports festival has been jointly organised by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Winter Sports Fed­era­tion of Pakistan. It started in Naltar on Tuesday and will continue till Sunday.

Teams of PAF, Pakistan Army, GB Scouts, Swat, Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Higher Education Commission, Civil Aviation Authority and Alpine Club are participating in the competitions.

Located in Karakoram Range, Naltar is the oldest ski resort of Pakistan at 10,500 feet above sea level. Sports competitions are organised on Naltar snow during the winter season every year. Around 100 enthusiastic skiers and other winter sports players from across the country are taking part in in the competitions.

President Dr Arif Alvi is expected to visit Naltar and participate in the concluding ceremony of the event.

According to a press rel­ease issued by PAF on Thur­sday, Waqar Junior’s outstanding run in both Slalom and Giant Slalom events helped Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts lift the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Alpine Ski Cup.

He was in supreme form in both Slalom and Giant Slalom races and clinched a gold and a silver medal in both categories.

In the Slalom category, former Olympian Moham­mad Abbas from PAF had a fabulous day on the slope and earned the gold medal in the category.

The silver medal in the Slalom category was won by GB Scouts’s Waqar Junior, while Noor Mohammad from Pakistan Army claimed the Bronze medal.

The Giant Slalom category was dominated by the skiers of GB Scouts, as besides Waqar Junior’s gold, the silver and bronze medals were also won by his teammates Sajjad Ahmad and Waqas Azam, respectively.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2021