Row puts Shandur polo festival in jeopardy

GILGIT: Shabbir Mir

GILGIT

The Gilgit-Baltistan government has decided to boycott the Shandur polo festival in protest against the federal government’s decision to assign the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa government to organise the event.

Shandur is the world’s highest polo ground located at 12,000 feet above the sea level. The game is traditionally played between arch rivals Gilgit and Chitral every year.

Advocate Amjad Hussain, a member in the Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet, said the decision to pull out of the event was taken by Chief Minister Mehdi Shah.

If the government pulls out, fate of the Shandur gala will be in danger as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will have to cancel the event, an official told The Express Tribune. PPP leader Amjad Hussain said unless the dispute is settled, the Gilgit team will not participate in the tournament.

According to estimates, more than 10,000 tourists, both local and foreign, throng Shandur to watch the polo tournament. A number of cultural shows are also part of the three-day festival that starts in July every year.

In 1920, a British administrator, Colonel Evelyn Hey Cobb, had first decided to organise a polo match between Gilgit and Chitral – both of which are separated by Shandur. Cobb held the game on the night of full moon. Historians say the practice continued for many years but after Cobb’s departure both teams decided to play the game in the day.  In the 1980s, the sport became more popular amongst the public while polo players became more focused.

In the past, Pakistani heads of state participated in the festival, former president Pervez Musharraf being the last to watch a match in Shandur.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2010.