The three-day Winter Sports Festival 2020 concluded with thrilling sports games and traditional dance and music in the scenic Malam Jabba tourist resort in Swat Valley on Sunday. The festival featured a number of winter sports games including skiing, Slalom ski for Under-10 and Under-14, speed skating for Under-15, ice hockey, sledding and tobogganing, archery, curling, snow-tubing, bonfire, alpine ski, music show, food, display of handicrafts and others.

The foreign and local tourists and visitors, who have already thronged the serene resort, enjoyed the games and music on the white snow in Malam Jabba. Nazim Shah stood first, Razaullah second and Habibullah clinched third position in the alpine combined snow-board ski matches.

Similarly, Asmat grabbed first position, Ihsan second and Ahmad Ali Shah stood third in the ice-hockey competitions. In Slalom Ski Under-10 contests, Hazrat Usman got first position, Shafi second and Mujahid third place, while Aza stood first, Zaubaida second and Ayesha third in the Under-10 girls competitions. Likewise, Mujahid grabbed first position, Muhammad Shahid second and Hamza clinched third position in the Under-14 Slalom ski competitions.

Zahid Hussain got first position, Siddique second and Sher Ghani stood third in the ski competitions held for the seniors. The Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), Swat district administration and Siemens Group had jointly organised the event. Malakand Commissioner Riaz Mehsud was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.

The TCKP and Swat district administration officials and Siemens Group Marketing Manager Samar Sabeen were also present. The chief guest gave away prizes and trophies to the winner skiers and players of various games.

Speaking on the occasion, Riaz Mehsud praised the organisers for arranging the mega event in the serene tourist spot. Welcoming the tourist and visitors, the official said that they had declared 2020 as the year of tourism in Malakand Division. "We will arrange a number of events this year in which many international and domestic tourists would be invited to come and enjoy stay here," the commissioner said. He hoped that more tourists would come to visit the serene spots in Malakand and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year owing to the construction of a number of roads including Kalam and Bahrain roads, other links roads and Swat Expressway.