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| File: Locals perform fold dance at Silk Route festival |
GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan government has postponed the
five-day ‘Silk Route International Festival’ scheduled to be held from
September 10 in view of the ongoing political uncertainty in the country.
Talking to mediapersons after
attending the concluding ceremony of a cultural festival at Hopar Nagar valley
on Friday, Chief Minister Syed Mahdi Shah said that representatives of 40
countries had been invited to in the festival. However, he added the current
political situation in the country due to protest sit-ins at Islamabad forced
postponement of the event.
Mr Shah said that the festival
was not likely to be held this year due to start of harsh winter in the region
after September.
The chief minister announced
that his government would organise the ‘Rama Festival’ in Astore district, next
month to provide the people an alternative to the silk route festival.
Meanwhile, a large number of
local people, foreign tourists, civil and military officials attended the
closing ceremony of the cultural festival at Hopar Nagar.
Speaking on the occasion, local
lawmaker Mirza Hussain said that main purpose of arranging the event was to
highlight the cultural and historical importance of the area.
He said that area had been
neglected by the government and the local community took the initiative to
organise the event.
On the occasion, FCNA Commander
Maj-Gen Syed Asim Munir said that the region had rich culture and traditions
which needed to be preserved.
He said that the area could be
turned into an attractive tourism point by arranging such programmes to promote
soft image of the country abroad. Dawn
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