RAWALPINDI: A weeklong Gaza Sports Gala was inaugurated by Palestinian students at Rawalpindi Medical University`s newly-constructed ground on Saturday night.

The sports activity is part of the university`s initiative of `sports for health` and will continue after Taraweeh prayers to Sehri till March 15.

The inaugural function was attended by Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed A.A. Rabei, Sudan`s Ambassador Salih Mohamed Ahmed, Kazakhstan`s Ambassador Yerzhan Kistafin and RMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer.

Pakistan Sweet Homes Patron-inChief Zamrud Khan, Al-Khidmat Trust President Dr Hafeezur Rehman, Fazilia Foundation Trust, Higher Education Council and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council officials, students, teachers and RMU alumni were also present.

Cricket, football, hockey, badminton, basket ball, table tennis, volleyball and other matches have been arranged during the event. The basicaim of the sports gala was to provide recreational opportunities to the students who have arrived from Gaza after the Israeli attacks to complete their studies.

Children from Pakistan Sweet Homes were also invited to take part in the recreational activities.

Night matches have become a tradition in the inner town areas in Ramazan. Special arrangements such as installation of high-beam lights are made on a large scale of these matches.

After the matches, the participants go to food outlets for Sehri especially at Kartarpura and Commercial Marketin Satellite Town.

For the sports festival at the RMU, all arrangements have been made by the university with the help of philanthropists.

`We renovated the RMU old campus grounds for seven games at a cost of Rs7 million and the funds were collected from philanthropists with the alumni of RMU playing a major role.

There is no direct funding from the government in this regard,` said RMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer while talking to Dawn.

He said that 45 Palestinian stu-dents were getting medical education at the university for the last six months. He said that they would complete their studies and will go back to Gaza to rebuild their healthcare system destroyed in the Israeli war.

Apart from the RMU, he said, 40 students from Gaza who were completing their education in other medical universities also joined the sport gala. `The basic aim of the event is to provide a home-like atmosphere to the students from Gaza in the holy month of Ramazan,` he said.

He said Palestinian students had been accommodated in a hostel espe-cially allocated for them. The expenses of their stay in Pakistan will be borne by philanthropists.

He said RMU had developed a special two-year medical education programme for these students as there was a little difference in Pakistan`s medical study and Gaza`s university but the basics are same.

He said special translators of Arabic were also arranged to communicate with these students so as to bridge the gap of language. He said house job training will also be provided to these students after they complete their education.