Prince William, Kate arrive to red carpet welcome

ISLAMABAD: Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in Pakistan to a red carpet welcome late Monday for their "most complex" tour to date, with Islamabad eager to tout improved security after years of violent militancy.

The couple — the Duchess of Cambridge in a sea-green shalwar kameez, and the Duke in a dark suit — were greeted by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and presented with flowers after they landed in a British government plane at a military base in Rawalpindi, state television images showed. Details of the five-day visit are being kept under wraps. Security is expected to be tight for the couple’s first official trip to Pakistan, and the first visit by a British royal since William’s father Charles and his wife Camilla came in 2006. In addition to Islamabad, they are set to visit the ancient Mughal capital of Lahore, as well as the mountainous north and theregion near the border with Afghanistan in the west.

Kensington Palace has called the trip "the most complex tour undertaken by The Duke and Duchess to date, given the logistical and security considerations". The couple are also expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was close friends with William’s mother, the late Princess Diana. "I’ve always been struck by the warmth in Pakistan towards the Royal Family," British High Commissioner Thomas Drew said in a video published to Twitter late Sunday.