Pakistan to host South Asian Games in April next year

Pakistan to host South Asian Games in April next year.

Key points

• Kashif Abbasi Published August 24, 2026 Updated August 24, 2026 09: 59am.
• The Games will feature 28 sports and 346 medal events, with more than 3, 200 athletes projected to participate throughout the three host cities.
• While India participated through video link, representatives from Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka attended the session in person.
• Kashif Ali Abbasi is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience in journalism.
• Pakistan was originally scheduled to host the Games in 2021, but the event was subsequently postponed for various reasons.

Kashif Abbasi Published August 24, 2026 Updated August 24, 2026 09: 59am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the South Asian Games from April 3 to 11 next year, 23 years after it last staged the regional sports gala in Islamabad in 2004.

In practice, the decision was taken at a session of the Executive Committee of the South Asia Olympic Council held here on Sunday, with Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Arif Saeed. This person is additionally president of the South Asian Olympic Committee, in the chair.

Notably, the session reviewed preparations for the Games and approved three host cities – Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.

While India participated through video link, representatives from Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka attended the session in person. As sources indicate, all the representatives endorsed the proposed dates.

For context, a visiting delegation is scheduled to inspect proposed sporting venues in Islamabad on Monday.

Notably, the Games will feature 28 sports and 346 medal events, with more than 3, 200 athletes projected to participate throughout the three host cities. Plenty of technical office-holders will additionally be part of the event, with Pakistan preparing to host around 4, 000 athletes and other foreign visitors.

During Sunday's session, representatives of the participating countries reviewed preparations and measures being taken by Pakistan to host the regional event.

For context, the federal administration has already given the go-ahead to the POA and other stakeholders to hold the Games and unveiled that the required funds would be published.

Pakistan was originally scheduled to host the Games in 2021, but the event was subsequently postponed for various reasons. Preparations are now remarked to be in their final stages.

Notably, the visiting delegation additionally visited the Taxila Museum and other historical sites on Sunday.

Sources remarked the Capital Development Authority (CDA), on the direction of the federal administration, had began preparations to provide accommodation and other facilities to foreign visitors arriving in Islamabad next year for the South Asian Games and other international events, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference.

"The federal government has been taking every possible step to make the three international events next year in Islamabad highly successful – the South Asian Games, SCO conference and a meeting of the OIC, " a senior administration official informed Dawn.

He remarked the POA, Foreign Office and federal administration were monitoring preparations to ensure that the Games were hosted successfully.

"Everyone is on board and working as a team for these Games, " he remarked.

Asked regarding India's participation, the official stated its representative had joined Sunday's session through video link and endorsed the dates, which, according to him, indicated that India intended to participate.

Nevertheless, another source cautioned that India's participation could not yet be confirmed.

"India has been mixing politics with sports and has avoided visiting Pakistan. Even lately, it did not participate in a volleyball event, " the source stated. Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026.

Kashif Ali Abbasi is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience in journalism. He covers sports, the education sector, and civic problems. He can be discovered on X at @AbbasiKashif833.

In short, pakistan to host South Asian Games in April next year is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.