Bringing the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan closer together through a Bicycle Race...

[desan]

Dozens of Pakistani and Afghan cyclists embarked on a 350 kilometre Tour de Galyat race on Friday from Peshawar to Galyat.The cyclists have reached Islamabad in first phase and they would leave for Galyat on Saturday.

The event included Pakistans top cyclists as well as a nine-member team from Afghanistan, Nisar Ahmed, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cycling Association said.

It is a very positive step, three to four countries will take part in the next race, he added.

Dressed in brightly coloured gear and riding latest generation racing bikes, the cyclists attracted droves of onlookers as they crossed historic monuments such as the 1,400-year-old Peshawar fort.

Ehsan Ullah Khan, an Afghan cyclist, said such events could help bring his country closer to Pakistan.

We hope that a time will come that Pakistan and Afghanistan would be united, he said.

Officials also hope the tour will help revive the countrys tourism industry, particularly in the northwest, following a fall in violence as a result of successful military operations.

Syed Azhar Ali Shah, an official from the Pakistan Cycling Federation said: The purpose of organising this tour is to promote tourism in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which has a lot of attractions both for local and foreign tourists.

http://khybernews.tv/tour-de-galyat-bicycle-race-begins-from-peshawar/

 

[360turn]

Bringing people of Pakistan and Afghanistan closer together needs to be cherished and Not exploited by Indians, as they can remain friends with Afghans but loyalty of Afghans through Muslims remains to be intact at all costs.

 

[Renegade]

Tourism needs to be turned into a billion dollar industry in KPK. As of now, KP only gets some Rs 12-13 billion from tourism and this needs to be drastically enhanced.

KPK govt. needs to allocate a major portion of the budget in the devp. of tourism industry, marketing, beautify and manicuring of the landscape. This will pay dividends in future.