Pakistan: From fun runs to fireworks: Islamabad’s tourism festival goes all out
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Cycling races, cultural performances and hot air balloons draw crowds to Jinnah Sports Complex.
A two-day Pakistan Tourism, Sports and Family Festival organised by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) in collaboration with the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), provincial tourism departments, and public and private sector stakeholders concluded at Jinnah Sports Complex on Sunday.
The second day of the festival witnessed vibrant sports activities and strong public participation. A fun marathon and a four-kilometre cycling were the mega events of the day. Attracting a large number of enthusiastic participants from all walks of life. Both events were highly enjoyed by the participants.
Cash prizes of Rs 10,000 were awarded to the winners of both competitions, encouraging healthy lifestyles and community engagement through sports.
The festival offered a wide range of attractions, including tourism stalls, live cooking, family and kids’ activities, food stalls, cultural exhibitions, provincial tourism pavilions, live cultural performances, painting competition, display of an army band, wall rock climbing, adventure base camp, street curling, paragliding, hot air ballooning and a vintage car show.
In the evening, the audience enjoyed lively cultural and musical performances from different regions of Pakistan. The event culminated with a grand musical concert followed by a spectacular fireworks display, which lit up the sky and marked a memorable conclusion to the festival.
Railway Minister Hanif Abbasi, while attending the closing ceremony, appreciated the efforts of the PM’s National Coordinator on Tourism, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan and the PTDC team for organising the festival.
Sardar Ilyas said that the festival demonstrated the immense potential of Pakistan as a family-friendly, vibrant and welcoming tourism destination, highlighting strong public participation and cultural diversity.
Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, Secretary, Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), remarked that the mega event was a result of effective inter-ministerial coordination and collective efforts of all stakeholders, contributing significantly to promoting domestic tourism and social cohesion.
PDTC chief Aftabur Rehman Rana expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the festival, adding that PTDC was proud to have facilitated and coordinated the first-of-its-kind event in Islamabad.
He said the larger number of participants by the public indicated growing interest in tourism-led recreational initiatives.
Reference Link:- https://images.dawn.com/news/1194821
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
