Azadi March convoy leaves Peshawar for Hazara

Vehicles participating in Azadi March rally leave Peshawar. (AN photo)

Newly elected members of the provincial assembly Atif Khan and Shahram Khan, who inaugurated the event. (AN photo)

• 52 vehicles and 20 mountain bikes are participating in the event, will reach Haripur in time for the Independence Day ceremony on August 14
• KP government, wants to promote tourism, and generate more funds for the province by organising this Azadi march convoy

PESHAWAR: Fifty vehicles set off from Peshawar for the picturesque Hazara division on August 13. They are taking part in the Azadi March to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day. The rally was inaugurated by KP ministers Atif Khan and Shahram Khan as it set off from the motorway interchange. Twenty mountain bikes joined the convoy at Hassanabdal.
Shahram Khan said that KP has many tourist attractions and the new government, led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, would try to develop as many as possible to increase the income generated from them.
“KP is an ideal location for tourism,” he said. “We want people from all over Pakistan and other countries to visit KP and enjoy its natural beauty.”
Atif Khan added that young people make up almost 60 percent of the country’s population, and so an important focus of the PTI-led provincial government would be youth affairs and tourism.
The participants in the rally, organized by the Frontier 4x4 Club and sponsored by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, spent the night in Mansehra district and were due to reach Haripur in time to celebrate Independence Day at a ceremony on August 14. TCKP general manager Sajjad Hameed said Mansehra was selected for the overnight stay to promote tourism in the picturesque area.
Babar Khan Yousafzai, president of the Frontier 4x4 Club, said that the vehicles in the rally are mostly from Peshawar and Abbottabad, while the mountain bikers are from the and Hikers group from Islamabad.
“The Frontier 4x4 Club and Bikers and Hikers have signed a memorandum of understanding and we jointly arrange such events,” added Yousafzai, who has finished first in the Gomal Zam rally in South Waziristan, the Sarfaranga Cold Desert Rally in Skardu and the Gwadar Rally.
Haripur Deputy Commissioner Zahid Pervez said that the Independence Day ceremony would include a number of events, including the arrival of the Azadi March, a football match, and a boxing competition at Chakai Park.