Govt keen to promote religious tourism in Pakistan: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday said the government was making concerted efforts to promote tourism especially religious tourism in Pakistan and the recent decision to open up Kartarpur border was manifestation of such efforts.

He was addressing a forum on ‘Glorious Gandhara Heritage’ in the ministry, Foreign Office in a press release said.

Qureshi underscored the importance of promoting tourism in Pakistan and said to realize true potential of tourism, the government had taken a number of steps including liberalization of visa regime with different countries and developing tourism infrastructure in Pakistan.

The Forum was attended by the foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua, senior officers of the ministry, high commissioners/ambassadors of China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as well as experts on the Gandhara civilization.

The foreign secretary highlighted the Gandhara Heritage and said apart from being blessed with natural beauty, Pakistan had many sites sacred to followers of different religions including Buddhism. These sites had a potential to attract foreigners especially people across different countries, she added.

The high commissioners/ambassadors of various countries as well as experts on Gandhara civilization also shared their valuable inputs in the forum.

It was decided that the Gandhara Forum would consist ambassadors/high commissioners in Islamabad, representatives, ministry of Foreign Affairs, provincial tourism department as well as experts on Gandhara civilization.