Back to life: Pakistan’s competitive skiers arrive in Malam Jabba

Five-day Peace Ski Gala 2011 begins in Swat valley.


Fazal Khaliq January 28, 2011

SWAT: As life for the people of Swat valley begins to normalise, a skiing gala tournament kicked off on Thursday in one of the valley’s most beautiful resorts, Malam Jabba.

Peace Ski Gala 2011, which will go on till January 30, has been organised by Swat’s pioneer skiing school, Ski School, in collaboration with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Provincial Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (Parrsa).

Malam Jabba is located 45 kilometres from Swat district’s main town Mingora and is 9,000 feet above sea level. It has historically been of a centre for skiers and skiing enthusiasts. In 1988, the Austrian government had installed chair lifts and a hotel for tourists and skiers. The resort soon became a hub for not only tourists from across the country but also from all over the world. Later, as Swat fell to militants, the scenic ski resort was destroyed by the Taliban who bombed the PTDC hotel and the chairlifts.

The skiing tournament will continue for five days and eight teams from across Pakistan will participate.  Yasir Khan, a participant from the Baidara area of Swat, has been skiing since long before the Taliban uprooted the system. “I have been skiing for a long time. The best time to come here would be during the snow season as players from all over Pakistan and from France, Austria and Japan would come here,” he tells The Express Tribune. “We had to leave the game after the Taliban destroyed everything.”

Another participant Shah Faisal said he was very excited at the chance to play the game again. “I am so excited to have the opportunity of playing this game once again because, unlike conventional games, skiing is played in seasons and before Talibanisation, we would anxiously wait for suitable weather,” he said.

By organising a tournament like this, the event’s managers hope to allay fears that Swat is off-limits. “We have organised this event to show the world that the situation has normalised and peace prevails in the area,” said president of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ski Association Mateeullah Khan.

He said that the event will continue for five days. In the first two days, they will train players about the equipment, after which the competition will begin.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th,  2011.

COMMENTS (7)

fawad(larkana) | 13 years ago | Reply Mashallah .... god bless my country, god bless swat , God bless my brave pashtoon bothers ... Mashallah
Sidra | 13 years ago | Reply oh I had a very nice memories of malamjabbah and its chair lift hill side. If things are getting normal then nothing like that. Swat is heaven. PTDC looks from the hill like a white egg in valley.
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