Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s “One Thousand Sports Grounds” Project: Renamed, Cleared, and Then Exposed
Musarrat Ullah Jan , Digital Creator The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s flagship plan to construct one thousand sports grounds has turned into a case study of administrative failure, financial manipulation, and suspected corruption, with investigators already identifying irregularities worth at least Rs 230 million. Launched with much fanfare after an announcement by PTI founder Imran Khan, the project was approved in the 2018–19 fiscal year as a seven-year scheme titled “One Thousand Sports Grounds,” with a total allocation of Rs 5.5 billion. The objective was straightforward: to provide basic sports infrastructure across the province and promote youth participation in sports. Seven years on, the project has failed to meet its core targets. Instead of addressing the shortcomings, authorities first changed the project’s name, then granted financial clearance despite serious audit objections, and now face revelations of missing funds, undocumented payments, and vanished rec...