Peshawar, Pakistan (TAN): The local government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north Pakistan is looking to promote sites in Kumrat valley as tourist destinations, reports said.
Chief minister of the province Mahmood Khan at a recent meeting expressed his government’s intention to develop a national part at Kumrat Valley and get the local community involved in the process.Located in the Upper Dir district, Kumrat is a scenic valley with the boisterous Panjkora river adding to its charm.
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From the district headquarters town of Dir, a metalled road leads to Sheringal. The remaining 50 kilometres of the way to Kumrat is non-metalled and dusty, reports say. Situated 8,100 feet above sea level in Dir Kohistan valley, the area offers mountaineering, trekking and rock climbing opportunities.
Among the strikingly beautiful spots in Dir-Kohistan valley are Thall, Lamutai, Seri, Kalkot, Jandrai, Jankai and Pathrak.
Khan has promised to develop a national park at Kumrat valley in Upper Dir district according to the wishes of the local community. The chief minister said this during a meeting held recently with an 18-member delegation from Upper Dir district in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan said the government wished to develop several spots for tourism and economic stability in the province.
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The delegation had reached out to the chief minister with reference to a national park to be developed at Kumrat. Khan said the local community would be given their due share in the project while the government would also provide them with their proprietary rights. Plans to promote tourism in Kumrat valley in consultation with the local community were also discussed.
The government is most interested in promoting tourism in Kumrat to improve the living conditions of its residents, Khan said.
“Every facility would be provided at Kumrat for the people,” he was quoted by the Daily Times as saying.
Pakistan PM’s efforts to promote tourism
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been trying to promote tourism in his country.
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.
PLZ START WORK ON SHARINGLE TO KUMRAT ROAD