3-day Girls’ Sports Carnival pulls thousands of students from across Pakistan
The three-day Girls Sports Carnival (Oct 18-20, 2024) organized by the Federal Ministry of Education & Professional Training, the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) is providing a unique platform to girls from across the country to vie for success and come out successful in the face of challenges. The carnival is set to conclude today (Sunday) with Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, parliamentarians and diplomats attending the concluding ceremony. Held at Sports Complex, the mega event is in a way teaching the girls’ students of high and higher secondary school the rare qualities of teamwork, tolerance and perseverance.
Around 40,000 girls including those from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Sindh, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and of course Islamabad have become a part of the girls sports carnival either as athlete/player or a visitor.
On the second day of the carnival, fans and families also participated and enjoyed the sports games and various cultural tableaus in the carnival. On the second day of the event, Saturday, a number of students while talking to Pakistan Observer distanced themselves from protests by some of their colleagues in Rawalpindi and other cities of Punjab. They rather emphasized that they believed in ‘sports’ not ‘protest’ and urged their fellow students to focus on their studies and let the authorities dig deeper in the alleged incident of rape in Lahore.
If you want to give vent to your anger or frustration you should do it in the ground rather than breaking the windowpanes or setting vehicles on fire, said a volley ball student who had come from Peshawar to participate in the volley ball championship.
In our zeal for one political party or the other we sometime forget that the particular party is merely using us to achieve its own vested interests, said another player from GB. Athletes, students, fans and families also enjoyed various cultural, educational, traffic rules, public information, food items and colorful stalls on the occasion of the carnival.
Secretary Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani, Chairman of the FBISE, Syed Junaid Akhlaq and MD of the National Book Foundation Murad Khan remained at the venue (Sports Complex) to inspire the students and guide the teachers.
In the football tournament held on the second day of the carnival, Army Public School System Secretariat bagged the first position Education Board Mardan clinched the second while ICG F-6/3 camse third. Mohyuddin Wani said it was quite heartening to see smiles on the faces of the contesting students during various matches and events at the carnival. Girls will be included in sports in every way and all possible facilities related to sports would be provided, he reassured.
On this occasion, Chairman Federal Board Syed Junaid Akhlaq encouraged the participating teams saying that these three days would serve to motivate them to face the challenges in life and win laurels for the country.
