Six Chitral polo players face ban ahead of Shandur festival

GILGIT: As the much-anticipated Shandur Polo Festival 2025 approaches, the Lower Chitral district administration has imposed a one-year ban on six polo players due to their “unsportsmanlike behaviour” during a preparatory tournament.

An official order issued by the Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner, along with the Juri Committee and Polo Coaches, reported that during the Shandur Festival Preparatory Polo Tournament 2025 at Polo Ground, Lower Chitral, the players were involved in misconduct. They violated the polo regulations by engaging in physical altercations with one another, using inappropriate language towards the jury and coaches, and even clashing with spectators.

Following these incidents, the Juri Committee and Polo Coaches recommended that the players be banned from participating in official polo tournaments for one year. Consequently, these players will be barred from competing in the Shandur Festival Preparatory Polo Tournament 2026 and other official tournaments in both Lower and Upper Chitral.

Also read: Shandur festival in jeopardy as G-B threatens to boycott event

The banned players are Zuhaib Alam from Hone Polo Team, Ihtishamuddin from Royal Polo Club, Owais Ibrahim from Sub Division Chitral, Tahir Ul Mulk from Sub Division Chitral, Farid Dowran from North Officer’s Polo Team, and Ahad Mehmood from Youth Polo Team Zargarandeh.

The Shandur Polo Festival, an iconic event held annually from 7 to 9 July at the world’s highest polo ground, situated at an altitude of 12,500 feet, has been rescheduled this year out of respect for Muharram. The festival is now set to take place from 20 to 22 June, with teams from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) competing against teams from Lower and Upper Chitral.

Shandur, the location of the festival, remains a disputed area between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan, with both regions claiming ownership. It connects Ghizer district of G-B with Chitral district of KP.

Last year, the KP government “unilaterally” cancelled the festival at the last moment, causing significant controversy and disappointment among the stakeholders. The G-B government protested and expressed extreme dismay and concern over this unilateral decision.

This year, G-B threatened to boycott the event unless a “joint organisational framework” was established. Subsequently, both sides agreed to jointly organise the festival.

On Wednesday, a coordination meeting was held at the Shandur Polo Ground to discuss the administrative and security arrangements for the festival. According to a statement issued by the G-B information department, the meeting was attended by military and administrative officers from both Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, including Commandant Chitral Scouts Bilal, Deputy Commissioner Ghizer Jabeeb Rehman, Additional Deputy Commissioner Gupis Yasin Shir Afzal, Deputy Commissioner Chitral, officers from the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, and Director of Sports Board Shah Mohammad.

The meeting thoroughly addressed the administrative and security issues, identifying challenges and shortcomings. Both sides agreed to resolve these issues jointly and ensure improved arrangements.

The statement said both parties expressed their commitment to organising the 2025 Shandur Festival in a way that not only promotes tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also boosts traditional freestyle polo in the region and strengthens the brotherly ties and cordial relations between the people of both areas.