Spring festival for peace

PESHAWAR March 31: Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Asif Yaseen Malik has said that security situation has improved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the provincial capital. He was speaking as a chief guest at the opening ceremony of spring festival 2011 here on Thursday at the Karnal Sher Khan Stadium. The theme of the festival was "Yes to peace, no to terror". Gen Yaseen said that every possible effort was being made to restore peace in the province and to ensure better living conditions to the people. "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was in the grip of terror for the last few years and the miseries of people multiplied with natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes," he said. He appreciated the spring festival and the display of flowers, saying that such activities were refreshing and would have a positive impact on the minds of people."We enjoyed the colours and fragrance of flowers and the entire atmosphere had a soothing effect," he observed. Earlier in the welcome address, Peshawar Cantonment Board chief executive officer Shah-e-Rom said that flower exhibition was held every year that provided a platform to people to express their love for nature and flowers. "We should protect nature and provide clean environment to the coming generations," he said and thanked all the competitors for participating in the spring competition 2011. Later, the corps commander distributed prizes among the competitors of eight different categories. — APP