BAHAWALPUR: The South Punjab School Education Department launched the schools hockey league for the region at Matiullah Hockey Stadium on Sunday, aimed at reviving the sport in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, South Punjab Education Secretary Dr Ehtesham Anwar Mahar explained the objects of the initiative, saying the league was aimed at reviving hockey in educational institutions, rehabilitating hockey grounds, creating nurseries for producing players of international standards and discouraging the youth from uncontrolled use of computers, mobiles, video games and electronic gadgets.

Mr Mahar said the services of the hockey legend Samiullah Khan had been acquired to supervise various activities of the hockey league and to provide direct coaching to players.

He added that 332 fully equipped boys and 97 of girls teams in the higher secondary and high schools of 11 districts of south Punjab had been constituted and hockey was being played at three levels i.e. inter-school, inter-tehsil and inter-district levels, after which 12 teams would be constituted. He said the schools grounds would also be rehabilitated for the hockey competitions.

The exhibition matches were played after the launch of the league. In the boys’ contest, Bahawalpur’ Burraq team and Dera Ghazi Khan’s Ghazi’s team participated while Bahawalpur Barq Raftar and Khanewal’ Khatraknaak teams took part in the girls’ match.

JI: Jamaat–i-Islami emir Maulana Sirajul Haq says the politicians belonging to the PPP, PML-N and PTI who looted the country’s resources were named in the Panama Papers as well as the Pandora Papers but both the leaks had no people belonging to the JI.

Addressing a party workers’ convention here on Sunday, Mr Haq said the political system in the country which stood for the exploitation of the poor and depriving them of the justice, employment, health and other basic amenities provided luxuries to the well-to-do people.

He criticised the government for increasing the petrol prices, aimed at sucking the blood of the people.

The JI chief paid homage to the late Nawab of Bahawalpur for providing maximum basic facilities to the local population and said that the JI also stood for the demand of local people for restoration of the Bahawalpur province.

He paid rich tributes to Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, saying that with his death was a loss not only Pakistan but for the whole Islamic world. He lauded the deceased for her services in making Pakistan a nuclear power.

Pakistan Kissan Board chief Jam Hazoor Bakhsh, JI South Punjab emir Syed Zeeshan Akhtar, Punjab JI emir Rao Zafar Iqbal and others also addressed the convention.

After the conclusion of the convention, the JI workers offered the funeral prayers in absentia for the Dr Abdul Qadeer at Gulberg Road.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2021