Yesterday, I came across a news report saying the Prime Minister has made an announcement to fight terrorism through promotion of sports. The slogan he has come up with is from battle field to the sports field. Mr Gilani, on this occasion, has also expressed serious concern over our decline in sports at the international level and vowed to improve the situation in coming months. He said he intended to do so by increasing allocation of sports funds to various national sports federations. PMs new resolve on sports would be appreciated especially by those associated with different sports. If engaged in healthy pursuit of sporting activity, our youth would have something positive to do instead of wasting time elsewhere. The PM also laid stress on promoting sports facilities in poverty stricken rural areas instead of developing them in urban localities. This step would also help reduce the sense of deprivation that pervades these areas. Most important of all, it would facilitate in fighting the menace of terrorism. A healthy body encases a healthy mind so if we really want to see our youth excel in all walks of life, its important to have sports-related activities at all levels. -ZULFIQAR HAIDER, Islamabad, April 8.