Projecting soft image of Pukhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR: The three-day Frontier Food Festival concluded on Sunday on the bank of Indus River near Indus Bridge on motorway with participation of an impressive number of visitors. The cultural-cum-tourism event attracted a large number of visitors from the nearby localities besides guests from Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi districts of NWFP and Kamra, Attock, Islamabad and Lahore in the Punjab. The event was aimed at promoting domestic tourism through introducing Frontier’s cuisine to wider public as well as presenting the soft image of the province to counter the negative propaganda of extremism and terrorism against it.It was really a joyful moment when Indus turned into twinkles with firework by Artifissimo Pvt Ltd late Saturday, the second night of the festival, which continued for about 10 minutes. The festival site was decorated with different stalls right from traditional food cuisines, garments, footwear, handicrafts, jewellery items and kids fun area. Boating and camel riding were also part of the activity. A reception chalet with big turban model on the top was much attractive that was surrounded by illumination on trees and plants. High-sound music and Khattak, Bethani, Chitrali, etc dances were enough to entertain the visitors and relieve them of tension of fear of terrorism and polluted environment of congested cities.The SMEDA, PCSIR, PC, Enhancer, Euro Sausages, Haleemghar, Khyber Charsi Tikka, Bakshipul Chapal Kabab, Shah Mansoor Special Foodstuff were among the prominent stalls erected at the festival site, where Alexander the Great had crossed the Indus in 326 BC.The turnout was encouraging beyond expectations, said Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, general manager, Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC). The official said not only people from different parts of the country visited the festival but foreign nationals like French, German and Japanese also enjoyed the festival, arranged by the STC.Arranging the festival was aimed at promoting tourism and breaking with the atmosphere vitiated by terrorism, he added. He said “tourism, not terrorism” was the slogan of STC and the corporation was working on promotion of peace and harmony through healthy activities like tourism keeping in view the Islamic injunctions. “You see how the visitors, including men, women and children were enjoying different activities with exemplary discipline in the open without any tension or fear,” he said while pointing towards Chitrali dance show.The food festival revived the memories of Jashn-e-Khyber that could not be held for almost two decades, he added.