KOHAT: A three-day national spring festival concluded in the picturesque Orakzai tribal district with a colourful ceremony.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority in collaboration with the district administration and Pak Army organised the event.

Inspector General of Frontier Constabulary (IGFC), North, Maj-Gen Noor Wali Khan was the chief guest. He distributed trophies, medals and shields among the winning teams of different traditional and non-traditional games.

Tribal elders placed a traditional turban on his head as a sign of honour.

In his speech, the IGFC appreciated the efforts of all departments and institutions for making the festival a memorable occasion for locals as well as tourists. Speaking on the occasion, deputy commissioner Tayyab Abdullah said peace had been restored in the picturesque valley, which would become a hub of tourists within one year.

He said organising such events would result development of the area and generation of employment opportunities for tribesmen.

Mr Abdullah said a tower of a cellular company had also been installed in Ghiljo area of Upper Orakzai, which would resolve the people’s connectivity issue, and also facilitate students of Kohat University of Science and Technology in attending online classes.

District police officer Mr Nazeer, assistant commissioner Zohra Noor, additional deputy commissioner, general, Masood Jan, additional deputy commissioner, relief, Habibullah and others were also present.

The festival took place at the scenic tourist resort of Kharasha-Khwa Storikhel.

Tourists from across the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan, thronged the stalls displaying cultural handicraft and local cuisine.

The festival featured a variety of traditional and non-traditional sports competitions, including jeep, cycle and motorcycle races, tug-of-war, arrow shooting, boat races, truck and tractor pulling, stone lifting, mud wrestling, kabaddi, paragliding, archery, cricket, football, volleyball, horse and camel dances, and various other traditional competitions.

Students from seminaries had been specially invited to the festival.

Chief minister’s adviser on tourism Zahid Chanzeb had inaugurated the festival on June 7.

Locals appreciated the holding of the event after a long time as an encouraging step and stressed the continuation of such positive activities in the future.

KPCTA had established camping pods and reserved the Samana guesthouse for the comfortable and joyful stay of tourists.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2024