ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: President General Pervez Musharraf will be the chief guest at the launching ceremony of 9th South Asian (SAF) Games here at Liaquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex, on Jan 9, it was officially learnt here on Thursday.

The SAF Games Secretariat, headed by Lt. Gen. Syed Arif Hassan, is expecting the launching ceremony of the twice-postponed Games to be a spectacular affair.

The event is scheduled to be held in the Pakistan capital from March 29 to April 7 next year.

The mascot of the Games will also be unveiled during the launching ceremony while a “countdown clock”, displaying how many days to go for the March 29 opening ceremony, will also be formally inaugurated.

The launching ceremony last year was also organised at the same venue before the event, originally scheduled for Oct 6-15, 2001, was postponed for the first time.

As many as 15 disciplines will figure during the Games likely to be participated by all the seven South Asian countries, including India, besides Afghanistan.

However, the South Asian Sports Federation (SASF) had decided in its last meeting to hold the Games even if one or the other country stays away. —APP