Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will jointly organise the Shandur festival this year, Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chief Minister Mehdi Shah said on Thursday.
This indicated that his government intended to end the boycott that has eclipsed the event for the past two years.
“We will take part this year in the event,” Shah announced in a press conference held in his residence on Thursday. He added that modalities have been settled between the two parties, according to which both the regions will have equal share in the festival’s management.
“The deputy commissioners of Ghizer and Chitral will jointly make arrangements for the Shandur tournament,” said Shah, who was flanked by Law Minister Wazir Shakil and others.
The chief minister said that both the chief ministers of G-B and K-P will address the opening and closing ceremonies.
The free-style Shandur polo tournament attracts a large number of foreign as well as domestic tourists each year, boosting the region’s economy which mostly depends on tourism in the absence of industries. The concluding ceremony of the event is usually attended by the head of state or a prominent dignitary designated by the president or the prime minister.
The territory of Shandur is situated at midway between Ghizer district of G-B and Chitral district of K-P – resulting in a dispute.
Commenting over the budget, Shah said that G-B’s budget has been doubled this year. He said that Rs7.26 billion have been allocated for the region and added that projects worth Rs28 billion will be completed. Shah said that the increase of Rs2096.6 million has been spent on the payment of outstanding land compensation (Rs600 million) and the remaining amount has been released to clear matured liabilities of the ongoing approved projects, thus clearing contractors liabilities.
To another question, he denied developing any consensus with the PML-Q over alliance and power sharing in the region.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2011.
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