ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi Wednesday announced to name Kashmir Premier League as the National T20 League of Kashmir.
The announcement came during a meeting of AJK PM with Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Chairman Shehryar Khan Afridi and famous cricketer Shahid Afridi at the AJK PM House in Muzaffarabad.
Inspector General of AJK Police Sohail Tajik, Sports secretary and other high ranking officials were also present on the occasion.
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi said that the KPL would be spending Rs1 billion on the development of sports across AJK.
AJK PM Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi said that Azad Kashmir is the base camp of the Kashmir Freedom Movement and the martyrs of Kashmiri fighters in the heavens would be happy today.
“I myself am a resident of the Line of Control and I know what it takes to challenge the Indian Illegally Occupied regime in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the KPL was a soft power tool to project Kashmir,” he said.
“We have dedicated the KPL to the martyrs of Kashmir. I have directed Principal Secretary to name KPL as Official National Cricket League of Kashmir,” he added.
He directed AJK Sports secretary to develop a state of the art cricket academy in Muzaffarabad and name it the Shahid Afridi Cricket Academy. He added that all the modern facilities would be provided in the cricket academy to harness the skills of Kashmiri youth.
Speaking on the occasion, Shehryar Khan Afridi said that the KPL has helped project Kashmir’s name on the global sports map. He said the successful holding of the KPL was a message of peace and development to all and sundry and all stakeholders shared the fruit.
“Sports and culture help grow a nation and its morale. KPL is the first successful show of Prime Minister AJK. Now, the sky is the limit to holding such events to help harness the Kashmiri talent,” he said.
Shehryar Afridi said that Kashmiri youth would be provided on global platforms. He said that the cricket academy in Azad Kashmir would groom the Kashmiri youth on Cricket, Squash and hockey skills.
He acknowledged that the elder generations had sacrificed everything for Kashmir.
“Sports is the best gift to Kashmiri youth. A self-sustainable academy needs to be developed to help benefit the youth of Kashmir. We will provide a blueprint of the academy,” he concluded.
KPL President Arif Malik said that the upcoming KPL would also feature a new franchise, Jammu Janbaz, to pay tribute to the Martyrs of Jammu next year.
