Govt committed to promoting tourism in KP, says CM Mahmood Khan

HARIPUR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said here on Saturday that the provincial government was committed to promoting tourism industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing the participants of inaugural ceremony of three-day Khanpur festival, he said that it would not only attract the domestic and foreign tourists but also create thousands of jobs for the local people. Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan, provincial Minister for Education Akbar Ayub Khan, members of provincial assembly and officials of the Tourism Department were also present. The chief minister said the province had many tourist sites, that unfortunately these remained neglected. He added that the tourism industry despite having great potential of contributing to provincial economy could not flourish in the past.

However, he added that government had taken some concrete steps to promote tourism in the province. Talking about the measures that the PTI govt had taken in this regard, the chief minister said the raising of tourism police had been approved to provide security to tourists.

For exploring the potential to the maximum, he said that a tourism body and tourists’ facilitation centres were being set up in the province.

He said the promotion of tourism in KP would help bring prosperity and development as the measures being taken would create thousands of new job opportunities. Mahmood Khan asked the federal government to hand over the possession of Khanpur dam to the provincial authorities so that it could be developed on modern lines.

He appreciated the district administration for the arrangements made for Khanpur festival. Speaking on this occasion the federal minister Omar Ayub Khan pointed out that Khanpur has its historical importance as the area housed a number of archaeological sites of global fame and had always attracted thousands of domestic and international tourists every year. He said that investment on promotion of tourism in Khanpur area had great potential of creating jobs for the youths. The federal minister drawn the attention of CM Mahmood Khan towards encroachment in the hilly areas of Makhniyal and demanded action against the illegal occupants. PTI's MPA from PK 41 Arshad Ayub Khan demanded that the provincial govt must open tourists facilitation centre in Khanpur and opening of Khanpur rest house for general public.

Later the CM also laid the foundation stone of the building of Rescue 1122, new building of TMA Khanpur, Govt Girls degree college, BS block of Govt Postgraduate College Khanpur and addressed the party workers at the public meeting in village Tarnawa. On this occasion he announced a number of developmental project for Khanpur Tehsil.