Peshawar, June 13(ANI): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti has formally invited the newly-wed British royal couple, Prince William and Princess Kate, to witness the final of Shandur Polo scheduled for July 9, Provincial Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah has said.
The move to invite the royal couple to Shandur this year was initiated by Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) to promote the region and to bring it in international news for something heart-warming and positive.
In the letter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Hoti said: “My government extends its warm greetings to Your Highnesses on Your recent wedding. The connection of the Royal Family of Britain with Chitral and polo goes back many years… Chitral warmly welcomed HRH Princess Diana in 1991. The people of Chitral have fond memories of that day when all flights to Chitral had been cancelled due to rain, HRH Princess Diana landed in her BA 146 and arrived in the valley much to the pleasant surprise of everyone.”
“I hope that Your Highnesses will be able to grace this polo cup final. It will help foster relations between our two countries and we await with anticipation your response,” he added.
Giving details of the place and the game rules at the Shandur Polo Festival, Hoti said: Your Highnesses, Shandur is the highest polo field on earth.
Shandur Pass, which is one of the most peaceful and serene areas of Pakistan… also offers one of the world’s most interesting and attractive sports annually with freestyle mountain polo. The exhilarating game is played on the ‘Roof of the World’, about 12500 feet above sea level approximately, where the Hindukush, Pamir and Karakoram ranges meet.”
“Chitral is also the original birthplace of the sport of polo and the rugged mountain polo is arguably polo in its purest form. This version of the game played at Shandur has attained legendary status and is of great interest to international and domestic adventure tourists alike… It is attended every year by prominent celebrities, public figures and opinion leaders,” the chief minister added. (ANI)