GILGIT: The qualifying round for the fourth edition of the Sarfaranga cold desert jeep rally was held on Saturday, in which 50 jeep racers, including five women, produced stunning performances on a two-kilometre track.

Shoaib Malik from Lahore was the first one to finish, crossing the track in just one minute and 31 seconds.

However, the round wasn’t meant to knock the participants out of the event and was instead aimed at inspection and checking preparations.

The final round of the jeep rally is scheduled for Sunday (today) and set to feature 60 jeep drivers and 25 bikers competing on a 30km track.

The jeep rally is part of a series of annual events, including multiple local and international sports competitions, cultural nights and musical shows, along with a tent village to showcase products made by local entrepreneurs.

The Zakh (raft) competition, sword dance, tent pegging, wheelchair race, musical bands, and performances by paragliders and motor gliders attract a large number of spectators.

In the raft competition held in Blind Lake in Shigar on Saturday, a total of 12 local boaters participated, of whom Muhammad Hashim from Shigar stood first.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2022