Daily Times

A cricket tournament was organised here to encourage youth and promote constructive thinking in them besides promoting peace, harmony and a positive image of Pakistan through sports.

The tournament matches between teams of 12 Catholic churches from different cities sponsored by Paigham-e-Pakistan were played at Saint Mary’s Girls Academy in Rawalpindi.

The final of the tournament was played between Satellite Town Catholic Church Rawalpindi and Peshawar City Catholic Church on Saturday. Vatican diplomat Archbishop Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis and Diocese of Islamabad Archbishop Dr Joseph Arshad distributed awards among the winning team. Islamic Research Institute Director General Dr Zia ul Haq represented Paigham-e-Pakistan at the event. A large number of Catholic priests and general public participated in the concluding ceremony.

Addressing the participants on the occasion, the speakers emphasised that the youth should be engaged in healthy activities so that they can play a vital role in the peace building activities in the country. They called for sensitising the youth on community engagement in order to build peace in the society and eradicate violence, extremism and terrorism.

In their views on the occasion, the participants said such events are the best way to not only ensure meaningful participation of the young people in constructive activities but also bring people from different religions together so as to bridge the gap between different religious communities. They termed the event a unique initiative that will go a long way in promoting peace, harmony and inclusiveness in the country.

In the end, tournament chief Father Anthony Elias, managing committee member Father Kamran Daniel, Kamran Sattar and Christopher Sharaf thanked all the departments, organisations and individuals who helped materialise the dream of holding such a successful event. They also thanked Paigham-e-Pakistan for sponsoring the tournament.