The fate of Shandur Polo Festival slated to take place from July 7 to 9 has been in doldrums after Deputy Commissioner Chitral Khurshid Alam Mehsud started calling the shots in team selection despite not being the member of the committee.
The controversy started after he dropped Sikandarul Mulk, who is considered to be the pioneer of polo in Chitral, as he had in his credit of laying the foundation of Shandur polo tournament by organising a polo match back in 1981 between the teams of sub-divisions Mastuj and Yasin.
And then in 1982 it got the attention of the government which declared polo tournament on the world's highest polo ground every year, for which visitors from all around the world throng the valley to experience a traditional polo match.
However, this time around when the tournament is hardly a few days away, the deputy commissioner has made the tournament controversial as all the teams both from lower and upper Chitral have boycotted the tourney, besides staging a protest against the highhandedness of the deputy commissioner.
The boycott and protests by the polo teams and the people of the area against removal of Sikander who has been leading "A Team" of Chitral Polo since 1981, will create an unrest in the area, besides exposing the poor administration of the deputy commissioner as well as other stakeholders - who are also hand in gloves with the district administration.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, who is going to be the chief guest of the final match between the teams of Gilgit and Chitral, has also been informed about the controversy which may result in rolling of some heads including the deputy commissioner and some of his sympathisers holding important positions in the district. When contacted, the deputy commissioner said he was busy and would return the call but he did not till filing of this report.