K-P govt postpones National Games due to security concerns

Pre-games to continue as per schedule

PESHAWAR: Despite assurances from senior sports officials, the provincial government has decided to postpone the 33rd National Games, which were due to be held later this month, owing to security concerns, Provincial Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai told media on Tuesday.

The games will now be held on November 14, after the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Azadi March scheduled for October 27.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Olympics Association (POA) noted that the games will commence from November 9 and conclude on November 14.

“The country’s biggest sports extravaganza, which was scheduled to be organised from October 26 at Peshawar, will now be held from November 9 to 14,” said POA Secretary Khalid Mehmood said on Tuesday.

The games are being held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after a gap of nearly nine years owing to security and militancy fears. More than 10,000 players from across the country are expected to participate in them.

The torch for the games, which arrived in the federal capital on Monday and was unveiled in a ceremony there on Tuesday, is expected to enter the province on October 19.

Yousafzai stated that while the games itself are being delayed, some of the pre-games events, including the arrival of the torch, will continue as per the announced schedule.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2019.