Lahore, Pakistan, October 11, 2020: His Excellency Mir Afzal Khan, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, visited Pakistan Olympic House on Saturday, October 10. He was welcomed by Lt. Gen (retd.) Syed Arif Hasan, President of the Pakistan Olympic Association.
The POA President greeted and thanked Mir Afzal Khan for his very important visit and discussed matters related to the promotion of Olympic sports and the Olympic movement in Gilgit-Baltistan, an administrative territory in the north of the country.
During the meeting the POA President praised the contribution of the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan in national sports and recognised the immense potential they have to raise the national flag in international arenas. He emphasized that the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan and the POA should work for the betterment of youth, utilising the educational values of sports and sports as a tool of human development and fostering peace and friendship.
One such athlete from Gilgit-Baltistan is Olympian skier Muhammad Karim. The POA is thankful to the International Olympic Committee and its Olympic Solidarity scholarship programme that shall enable Karim to gain better training and preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
HE Mir Afzal Khan reiterated the significant roles of sports in positive development of youth. He said more efforts should be made to engage youngsters in sporting activities within their educational institutions. Lt Gen (retd.) Syed Arif Hasan was pleased to accommodate the proposal of the Chief Minister to establish a permanent set-up of the Gilgit-Baltistan Olympic Association.
Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, POA Secretary General, also briefed the Chief Minister on the functions and operations of the local Olympic governing body and further shared the objectives of both the national and provincial Olympic associations which is to instill in youth the highest ethics through Olympism.
