Spring is here: DI Khan fervently celebrates annual horse and cattle show

The festival was not held for three years after 2009 due to security concerns.

DI KHAN:

With the passing of Nowruz and the onset of spring came the two-day horse and cattle show that is held annually at DI Khan’s Ratha Kulachi Cricket Stadium.

Although this festival is a historical tradition and said to be as old as DI Khan city itself, it was not held for three years after 2009 due to security concerns. The carnival is taken so seriously by the local population that the government announces holidays to ensure participation by everyone.

“This festival is an integral part of our culture,” said Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister Ali Amin Gandapur while addressing the audience on the first day on Saturday. “We are now able to celebrate it again because the law and order situation has improved.”

Bright fireworks lit up the sky in DI Khan the night before the inauguration of the festival. The next morning, the show kicked off to the beat of drums and an array of local dances.

The horse and cattle show includes activities such as tent-pegging, tug of war, kite-flying and kabaddi; however, the highlight of the event is the sale and purchase of horses and cattle for which people from adjacent districts of Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Tank travel to the area.

“This event makes us all really happy,” said a young man from Paharpur village, Noorul Amin, whose pet dog participated in the dog competition. “It is a sign of peace and I hope that everything will go smoothly.”

“I wish we would have many more such festivals,” said five-year-old Nabila who was also brought to the show by her father. “My favourites were the dog and horse races.”

Tight security had been arranged for the horse and cattle show, with police checks on all four sides monitored by the DPO himself. Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk, Justice Mazhar Alam, Justice Chaudhry Dawood and other government officials were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2014.