CHITRAL    -   The two-day Broghil Festival held at National Broghil Park under the auspices of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department and District Administration Chitral Upper ended successfully with all its colors and splendor.

A large number of foreign tourists, including domestic ones largely enjoyed the historical fun and joys relating to the historical Broghil Festival laced with traditional music concerts and games.

The special guest of the closing ceremony was Commissioner Syed Zaheerul Islam. Foreign tourists including local and domestic tourists also participated in the festival and enjoyed the unique sports of Pakistan including going through ancient Wakhi culture and civilization.  Yak Polo, Horse Polo, Buzkashi, Donkey Polo, Cricket with competitions in various sports and other traditional sports were part of the festival in which teams from different villages participated along with Broghil.  

In Yak Polo, Chilmarabad village won the trophy by defeating Shikarwarzgaon after a tough contest, while in a fierce competition of Buzkashi, Chakar village defeated Lashkar-e-Gas while in Gadha Polo, Garm Chashma village defeated Chilmarabad.  In the Polo final, Garil village defeated Chilmarabad by one goal to nil. The festival also featured archery competitions. At the festival, local artists entertained the audience by performing their concerts.  

Addressing the function, Commissioner Malakand Division Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam said that this festival had been included in the annual calendar events of the provincial government and it will be celebrated from July 22 to 24 every year. 

“The festival will be celebrated every year on July 22 by including it in the calendar events of the provincial government and we welcome our highly prestigious tourists turning up to witness and enjoy the joyful moments,” said Commissioner Malakand Division Zaheerul Islam while addressing a gathering on the occasion of prize distribution ceremony.

Broghil and Yakhon Valley are among the most beautiful areas of the country, he said, the people of the areas are definitely lucky and these are the areas, which are the main source of water having glaciers and green peaks making Pakistan greenish, and the economic condition of the country improves through Almighty Allah gifted water resources. 

Deputy Commissioner Upper Chitral Shah Saud said that Broghil is the first festival after the coronavirus. He termed the organization of the festival as an achievement of the Tourism Corporation and thanked it. 

In the closing ceremony, Deputy Commissioner Upper Chitral Upper Shah Saud, Lower Chitral Naveed Ahmed, DPO Chitral Zulfiqar Tanoli, Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Ali Asghar, Deputy Commissioner Bannu Muhammad Zubair, Deputy Commissioner Shangla including Pakistan Army, Chitral Scouts, Police and other important personalities and officials were present.  An awareness walk was also organized to keep the Broghil Valley clean.