1,000 young athletes to compete in games as Sohail Afridi pushes ‘sports over guns’ message
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi on February 11. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday said, “Those who want to push us towards guns should know that we choose sports.” He made these remarks while inaugurating the Under-16 Sports Games at the Jamrud Sports Complex in Jamrud.
The event features young athletes from eight merged districts and six sub-divisions, competing in football, cricket, volleyball and other sports. He said sporting activities had been organised in the merged districts for some time to identify and promote local talent.
Officials said around 1,000 players are participating in the Under-16 sports event, which aims to engage youth in positive activities and promote healthy competition across the region.
The chief minister announced that separate sports competitions would also be organised for women, religious seminaries, and minority communities. He said national teams were waiting for talented players from K-P, describing the province as fertile ground for emerging talent. Afridi also announced a free transport service for all colleges in the merged districts to facilitate students’ access to education.
Addressing the ceremony, Afridi said that over the past 78 years, “our youth were taught ‘B for Bandook (gun),’ but now the time has come to teach our young generation ‘Q for Qalam (pen).'” He termed the Pashtun nation honourable and brave, but not foolish, and said that the people of K-P will resist every policy that harms the province.
The chief minister strongly criticised the national media, questioning its impartiality and alleging bias against K-P. “Is this national media or PML-N’s media? The national media does not consider the people of Pakhtunkhwa as its own,” he questioned.
He said major financial scandals involving trillions of rupees did not face media scrutiny, while his government was subjected to sustained criticism after allocating Rs4 billion for victims of the Tirah Valley. He urged the media to at least avoid misinformation if it could not report the truth, and to highlight the hardships faced by the people of the province.
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Regarding a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former-prime minister Imran Khan, Afridi said that all constitutional requirements for the meeting were fulfilled, yet permission is still not being granted. He warned of protests if the meeting is not allowed.
During the visit, Afridi inaugurated the Sehat Insaf Card at Jamrud Hospital. He also opened a 10-bed Nutrition Stabilisation Ward and launched a mobile testing laboratory at the facility to improve healthcare services in the area.
