Postponed: Shandur Polo Festival to be held after Eid

Islamabad: The Shandur Polo Festival has been postponed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa government due to massive destruction caused by floods in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan region. The festival, reportedly, will now be held in the month of August, after Eid-ul-Fitr, instead of the scheduled second week of July.

The annual polo festival is played every year between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan at Shandur, the world’s highest polo ground. The participation of Gilgit-Baltistan’s teams in the tournament had become impossible due to the widespread destruction of roads in Ghizer.

The festival draws thousands of spectators from across Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and other parts of Pakistan. A large number of foreigners also attend the festival every year.

The news of postponment has come as a disappointment to the fans of Polo who were planning to travel to Shandur.