KikxNow , Digital Creator

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator Peshawar – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development (KITE) Project, funded by the World Bank to promote sustainable tourism in the province, is facing serious scrutiny over a lack of transparency and accountability. Investigative journalist Musarrat Ullah Jan has revealed that repeated Right to Information (RTI) requests sent to the responsible local authorities have gone unanswered. Despite the passage of the legally stipulated period for response, no information has been provided regarding the utilization of funds, project progress, or related data. “The public and stakeholders have the right to know where resources are being allocated and whether the objectives of the project are being achieved,” said Jan, expressing concern over the delays and lack of clarity. “The absence of timely responses raises serious questions about governance and oversight.” The KITE Project, backed by international funding, is intended...

    Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital creator A critical request for transparency regarding a tragic incident on the Swat River has been met with complete silence by the managing authority, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project (KITE). The refusal to respond to the formal information request, sent nearly two months ago, has now become a central point of concern, particularly as the journalist plans to escalate the issue to the World Bank, the project's key financial backer. On August 13, 2025, investigative journalist Mussarat Ullah Jan submitted a formal application under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act, 2013, to the Project Director of KITE. The request sought validated information concerning the project's emergency preparedness, response, and coordination following the devastating incident where seventeen tourists lost their lives in the Swat River. The detailed request specifically demanded the following: Copies of Emerg...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Merged Districts' Sports Directorate (MDSD) has gone stone cold silent, sparking serious questions on its transparency, performance, and governance. The Directorate is charged with disregarding successive applications for information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, along with a virtual collapse of sporting activity across most of the erstwhile tribal areas. Sporting life has practically come to an end in all but a handful of Merged Districts. In addition, a number of development schemes are still unfinished even with the grant and release of required funds, indicating major administrative setbacks. Adding to the woes are claims of lost assets and shady appointments. There have been reports that bicycles given by the UNDP are missing. While the MDSD owned up that the bicycles were turned over to a coach, officials will not say anything more, especially regarding why assets intended for a complex we...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator The exciting sports activity in Bannu Division has come to a complete standstill, with sportsmen and local clubs anxious over the development. The stagnation is due to the inability to fill the post of the outgoing Regional Sports Officer (RSO). The drama started with the Director General Sports for the Sports Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa transferring the RSO Bannu. Surprisingly, the transferred officer still has not joined their new assignment, leaving an administrative vacuum. This questions the DG Sports' capability to implement their own official directions. Local sporting communities are raising alarms, adding that this is not the first administrative hammer. The District Sports Officer (DSO) position was previously abolished in Bannu, and now that the RSO has been sent away and not replaced, no authorized official remains to oversee local sporting matters. All sports activities at the district level have thus been suspe...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator A serious scandal has erupted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's sports setup, casting doubts on transparency in sports and jeopardizing the future of young sportspeople. Said Zahir Shah, President of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association, sent a letter to the Director General of Sports alleging that hockey coach Naveed Iqbal from District Sawabi is involved in corruption, illegal activities, and even human smuggling. The letter asserts that Naveed Iqbal purportedly organized spurious trials in foreign countries to entice young players with the promise of international prospects, earning money from them along the way. Spurious advertisements for trials in Malaysia and Thailand were placed, and some players have gone to Belarus and other nations in August 2025. While a few have returned, many are missing, and it is feared they might now be settled illegally in Europe. Said Zahir Shah declared that Naveed Iqbal's moves are against P...

  Misuse of sports grounds continues unchecked despite 2018 ban Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator Bannu: Clips of chairs set on Bannu Sports Complex's tartan track have become viral on social media, again putting questions marks on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government's 2018 sports policy. The policy had strictly banned the use of sport stadiums and grounds for non-sporting activities, but this was done in daylight in Bannu. Experts have cautioned that the tartan track has been specially laid for athletic activities and putting chairs on it will result in irreversible damage. The question remains: when there is a specific government directive since 2018, how could such a transgression take place at Bannu Sports Complex and under whose administration? What adds more irony to the situation is that all this took place in the Chief Secretary's home district, where there has been no appointment of a Regional Sports Officer (RSO) and no mechanism for effective mon...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator A session of "open court," convened by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate on Friday, lasted six minutes and nine seconds only, and one is left wondering about the purpose of holding such a session. The meeting, presided over by Secretary Sports Saadat Hassan and in which Additional Secretary, Director General Sports, Director Youth, and officials from the Engineering Wing participated, was supposed to give citizens an opportunity to air their grievances. Several of them had pre-submitted questions online ranging from the Hassan Khel Sports Complex and DDO issues to questions regarding the performance of the Engineering Wing and overall sports administration. But the session was abruptly terminated, with the website later attributing "technical reasons." Citizens, especially those who had raised Right to Information (RTI) issues, were dismayed at what they described as the Directorate's silence on transp...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – Kikxnow Digital Creator In a province where sports are promoted as a government priority, the Provincial Sports Directorate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing a scandal that speaks volumes about systemic corruption and bureaucratic protectionism. According to credible sources, at least 21 government vehicles, including those purchased for sports projects and Union Council initiatives, are missing. Their whereabouts remain unknown, and astonishingly, the Directorate has admitted that it has no record of these vehicles. For the fiscal years 2023/24 and 2024/25, there is no official documentation of fueling or maintenance expenses for these vehicles. With the new fiscal year 2025/26 already underway, not only is the Directorate unable to explain the loss, but it also continues to withhold information despite formal requests submitted in April 2025. Investigations reveal that some of the missing vehicles have been taken by senior bureaucrats—Grade 20 officer...

  Musarrat ullah Jan – KIKXNOW Digital creator In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Sports Directorate has recently seen its staff strength surge from 300 to 500 employees. On paper, the recruitment of 200 new staff members looks like a positive step, suggesting the government wants to strengthen the sports structure. But when one scratches beneath the surface, a series of serious questions arise: Was this process fair, transparent, and in line with the law, or was it yet another example of political patronage disguised as public service? According to Pakistan’s civil service rules and provincial regulations, no recruitment can take place without public advertisement. This is not just a formality; it ensures that every eligible candidate has an equal opportunity to apply. In some cases, employment offices also circulate these opportunities to make the process inclusive. Yet, in the case of these 200 new appointments, there was no newspaper advertisement, no notification thro...

  Musarrat Ullah Jan – kixkNow digital creator In a disconcerting turn of events that highlights the long-standing problems in Pakistan's sporting infrastructure, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association (KPHA) has officially registered concern regarding the substandard AstroTurf installed at the Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium, Peshawar. An 08-09-2025 letter written to the Director General, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Islamabad, states the turf laid recently as unplayable, unsafe, and technically defective. The field is plagued by creases, risky metal nails, and low-leveling, the report says, which makes young players highly vulnerable to injury. This is not only a matter of inferior work—but a monumental wastage of taxpayers' money. The letter says that millions of rupees were wasted on a turf that does not even live up to basic safety standards. The KPHA calls it an insult to the game and a betrayal of the future of hockey in Pakistan. More alarming is the reference to a ...