Islamabad (TAN): Pakistan is making efforts to make the country attractive to tourists. As part of these initiatives, the country has now lifted restrictions on tourists from visiting most parts of the country.
Information and broadcasting minister Ch Fawad Hussain last week announced that the Pakistan government had done away with no-objection certificates (NOCs), which were earlier essential for tourists to be able to visit many parts of the country.
“Another landmark achieved NOC regime for foreigners come to an end, @ImranKhanPTI vision is to make Pak a heaven for tourists and following new Visa regime this important policy decision of ending NOC requirements is a leap forward #DiscoverPakistan,” tweeted the minister.
However, tourists are still not allowed to travel within 10 miles of the borders with China and Afghanistan and within five miles of the military control lines in Siachen, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
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World Cup-winning-cricket captain-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is now Prime Minister of Pakistan, has been promoting his country as a tourist destination for several months now.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai in February, Khan said: “Pakistan has the best tourism potential. At the moment we hardly have any tourism compared with other countries.”
He said while countries such as Malaysia and Turkey were raking in tourism dollars from their beaches, resorts and historical sites, Pakistan, despite having all those, hadn’t been able to exploit the full potential of the market.
“Half of the world’s highest peaks are in Pakistan, we have about 1,000 km of coastline as well as historical monuments and ancient cities,” said Khan, adding that Pakistan also had the potential for religious tourism with the presence of sites considered holy by Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists.
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The Pakistan Prime Minister said the government was doing its best to develop tourism in Pakistan and they have begun with easing visa regulations.
“Citizens of about 70 countries can come and get their visas at the airport. Pakistan is opening up for both tourism and businesses should take opportunity of it,” Khan said.
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