The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has postponed the famous Shandur Polo Festival in Chitral due to the threat of the spread of Covid19.
The Secretary of Sports, Culture and Tourism Department of KP after a long discussion announced the decision due to the concerns of Covid19.
The decision has been taken in light of the instructions issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), says a notification. It said thorough discussions were held with Secretary Sports, Culture and Tourism Department Abid Majeed, wherein different aspects of the proposed Shandur Polo Festival were discussed and it was decided that implementation of the NCOC guidelines with regard to social distancing and safe tourism at the venue will not be possible and therefore the conduct of the event might lead to further spread of corona.
It must be noted that the Frontier Corps (North) Headquarters through a letter had also expressed trepidations about holding the event and had advised postponing the event till the next year.
According to the notification released by the Tourism department KP, the Secretary Tourism Department in consultation with all the stakeholders and with the consent of the competent authority decided to cancel Shandur Polo Festival-2021 in the best public interest.
