Hazara Region win cricket title at KP Minority Sports Festival

PESHAWAR: Hazara Region won the cricket title at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minority Sports Festival after beating South Region in the final, with South finishing as runners-up.

The festival was organised by the Directorate General of Sports K-P and included a mix of sports and recreational activities intended to encourage inclusion and harmony among minority communities. In football, South Region secured the championship by defeating Malakand Region in the final.

In the tug-of-war event, Minority Eleven defeated the Sports Department team to take the title. Wazirzada finished first in the musical chair competition, while Senior Shoban and Junior Gerik won the senior and junior categories of the food competition.

Director General Sports K-P Tashfeen Haider distributed trophies and prizes among the winning teams and athletes at the closing ceremony. Former MPA and President of Insaf Minority Wing Wazirzada and former MPA and Secretary of Insaf Minority Wing Ravi Kumar attended as special guests.

Other participants at the ceremony included Director Operations Jamshed Baloch, Deputy Director Sports Kashif Farhan, Assistant Director Sports Ashfaq Ahmad, Senior Vice President Waqas Khokhar, Director Establishment Naimatullah Marwat, Faisal Javed, Saeed Akhtar, Irshad Khan and Adnan Joseph.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Tashfeen Haider said the provincial government was committed to ensuring equal sports opportunities for minority athletes across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He said the Minority Sports Festival was an important step toward promoting inclusion, social harmony and talent at the grassroots level, and added that the event was held on the directives of the chief minister and Adviser for Sports Taj Muhammad Khan Tarand. He also said such festivals would continue in the future.