Zubair Qureshi
The second edition of Seven Days Winter Feast is all set to be held in GilgitBaltistan (GB) from next Monday, (January 15) and will be celebrated in various cities of GB. During the seven day extravaganza, cultural activities and local sports would be showcased in ten districts of the province.
The highlight of the festival, however, will be the National Ice Hockey Championship which would open new avenues of tourism and unleash the region’s potential in this sector.
These views were expressed by GB ministers including Minister for Tourism Ghulam Muhammad, Planning and Development Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan, Vice President of the Pakistan Winter Sports, Air Commodore (R) ShahidNadeem, Additional Chief Secretary, Capt (R) Mushtaq Ahmed and Secretary Tourism, Sports and Culture AsifUllah Khan at a press conference held at Serena Hotel on Sunday.
Addressing the ceremony, Tourism Minister Ghulam Muhammad said the government of GB was promoting tourism in GB by organizing sports and cultural events during all the four seasons. Earlier, in the Autumn Season (October 2023), we organized a Rally at Sarfaranga, the highest cold desert in the world in Skardu.
The rally was part of the cultural festival and a large number of international tourists participated in it, he said.
Now we are organizing this mega event of the Seven Day Winter Festival in all the 10 districts of GB to attract tourism to that beautiful part of the world.
Raja Nasir Ali Khan also spoke on the occasion and said through such events GB’s traditional heritage, culture and values are promoted. Our message for the world is: Come, enjoy the hospitality of the local people and spend quiet moments with your loved ones among the highest peaks of the world.
CaptMushtaq Ahmed said the event was part of the efforts to showcase the positive image of Pakistan to the world. GB, he said, was considered a paradise on earth but unfortunately owing to no or little opportunities for sports and cultural activities, it was being neglected. Now we have planned to work in that direction and promote the entire region as a hub of tourism, he said. He also thanked the partners for making the event possible and hoped their contribution would result in promotion of tourism in the area.
The government in collaboration with the Winter Sports Federation is organizing the event to highlight the challenges of climate change also as glaciers are melting down gradually and through such events GB would attract the global attention. This will also make a significant contribution to revenue as during the last three years millions the government earned millions of dollars through tourism in GB.
