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  Musarrat Ullah Jan ,KikxNow ,Digital Creator PESHAWAR: Despite winning medals at national competitions, Kabaddi players in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to struggle without basic sports facilities. KP Kabaddi Association Secretary Sultan Bari has revealed that the province's female team recently secured a bronze medal at the National Games in Karachi, while the men's team won the gold medal at the Quaid-e-Azam Games. However, the players still do not have a proper Kabaddi mat for training. According to Bari, former Director General Sports Abdul Nasir Mohmand had promised to provide a Kabaddi mat and complete cement work for the playing area after the team's gold medal victory. Following his transfer, neither promise was fulfilled. "If our players can win gold and bronze medals without proper facilities, imagine what they could achieve with modern infrastructure," Bari said. He stated that Kabaddi is widely played across Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Swabi, Chars...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan ,kikxNow , Digital Creator For years, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate has cited budget constraints, limited resources, and financial challenges as major obstacles to sports development in the province. Officials have repeatedly emphasized the need for additional funding to improve facilities, support athletes, organize competitions, and maintain sports infrastructure. However, a growing number of questions are now being raised about whether the department is overlooking one of its own potential revenue sources: government-owned residential facilities located within sports complexes and administrative premises. At the center of the debate are residential units at the Peshawar Sports Complex, staff quarters at Shah Thamas Football Ground, accommodation facilities at Mardan Sports Complex, and rooms within the Directorate's VIP Hostel. The key question is straightforward: How many individuals are currently residing in these facilities, and what a...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator The Hassan Khel Sports Complex, built with millions of rupees by the Merged Districts Sports Directorate, has turned into a symbol of neglect and administrative failure. Facilities including the basketball court, badminton court, football ground, athletics track, and the administrative block are all in a deteriorating condition. The infrastructure is breaking down rapidly, with shattered glass, damaged doors, and visible decay across the entire site. Locals say there is no permanent District Sports Officer posted at the complex, and no District Sports Development Officer assigned to supervise or activate sports activities. As a result, the facility has remained non-functional for years. According to sources, the last official visit by a District Sports Officer was approximately four years ago. Since then, no meaningful follow-up or maintenance action has been taken. Young people in the area say the project was meant to prom...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator The recent online meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate was supposed to be a routine consultation with sports associations and district sports officials. Instead, it became a revealing snapshot of the opportunities, weaknesses and contradictions that continue to define sports administration in the province. Chaired by Director General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Tashfeen Haider, the meeting brought together senior officials of the Sports Directorate, Regional Sports Officers, District Sports Officers and representatives of several sports associations. However, the meeting also exposed some uncomfortable realities. Several influential district sports officers did not attend at all, many officials remained silent throughout the session and only a handful of associations actively participated. The meeting raised an important question: if the key stakeholders themselves are disengaged from discussions about the future...

  Musarrrat Ullah Jan ,KikxNow , Digital Creator Serious questions are once again being raised regarding the quality and oversight of sports development projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The artificial turf recently installed in Parachinar, the district headquarters of Kurram, is allegedly substandard and defective. However, the relevant authorities have yet to issue an official stance on the matter. According to sources, the turf in Parachinar has been poorly installed in fragmented patches rather than a seamless layout. Local sports enthusiasts and stakeholders have expressed deep concerns over the project's quality. Paradoxically, this project was completed in the home region of the Director General of Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa himself. While the KP Sports Advisor reportedly took notice of the issue and the Merged Districts Sports Directorate launched an inquiry, the findings have not yet been made public. Furthermore, no action has been reported against those responsib...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan ,KikxNow , Digital Creator When you examine the administrative structure of sports in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), one thing becomes glaringly obvious: committees exist, notifications are issued, and funds are allocated, but accountability and records are routinely missing. The Provincial Sports Management Committee, established under notification SO(S)2-39/sports policy/2020 on August 26, 2020, has become a prime example of this systemic flaw. The committee's mandate was crystal clear: overseeing the provincial sports fund, offering policy recommendations, and making decisions to improve the sports ecosystem. Yet, five years later, the reality is that the committee’s practical performance, meeting records, and policy impacts remain shrouded in question marks. In August 2025, an application was submitted to the Public Information Officer (PIO) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2013, seeking details about this committee. The application raised fundame...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan ,KikxNow , Digital Creator An extensive Right to Information (RTI) application has been filed with the Public Information Officer of Islamia College University Peshawar, seeking comprehensive records related to the university's sports administration, performance and financial management over the last ten years. The application, submitted under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013 by freelance sports journalist and anchorperson Musarrat Ullah Jan, seeks certified copies of documents concerning sports coaches, trainers, sports officers, athlete admissions, achievements, infrastructure and financial expenditures. The request seeks details of all coaches, trainers and sports officials currently employed by the university, including their qualifications, coaching certifications, grades, recruitment procedures and appointment status. It also asks for records of coaches appointed, transferred or retired during the past decade. The application f...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association (KPHA), in collaboration with the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), has announced a major initiative aimed at promoting hockey in the province and upgrading coaching standards through a structured national program. Under the supervision of PHF Development Director and former Olympian Tahir Zaman, the “Nationwide Coaching Education Program” is being launched to modernize coaching practices and strengthen the sport from the grassroots level. As part of this initiative, KPHA has finalized and submitted names of eligible and talented coaches from all districts of the province for formal approval. The nominations have been forwarded for inclusion in the national program. The list has been issued under the signatures of KP Hockey Association President Syed Zahir Shah, Chairman and former IGP Muhammad Saeed Khan, and Secretary Hidayatullah. According to officials, representation has been ens...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator Public institutions are built with taxpayers' money. Their land, buildings and facilities are public assets meant to serve society. When these resources gradually become private conveniences for a select few, asking questions becomes a public duty rather than merely a journalistic exercise. The situation at Shah Thamas Football Stadium in Peshawar raises precisely these questions. Employees have reportedly been residing in the stadium's official residential quarters for many years. Providing accommodation to staff is not unusual in itself. Many government departments provide housing facilities to employees. The issue begins when the line between an official facility and personal entitlement becomes blurred. There is reportedly no gas supply in the quarters, so electric heaters are being used for cooking. If there is a transparent and properly regulated mechanism governing electricity consumption, there should be no issue....