(TAN): The finance minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, Taimoor Saleem Jhagra, has said that PKR 55 million (USD 340,000) would be spent to boost tourism in the Orakzai tribal district, reported Dawn.
Orakzai is a district in Kohat division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Until 2018, it was an agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). With the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it became a district.
Jhagra made the announcement at a programme to lay the foundation stones of a tourist spot in Samana Sarwar Mela, and an 8 km Sarwar Mela-Khawga Serai road in the tribal district on Monday.
The minister said the government was sincere in exploiting the tourism potential of the tribal districts. This comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan recently said Pakistan needed to promote tourism in the country.
Khan had said Pakistan’s soft image can only be portrayed through the promotion of tourism, which would generate revenue and open up employment opportunities. He had also promised help to provincial governments for development and promotion of tourism across the country.
“Pakistan has the best tourism potential…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,” Khan had earlier said.
