Govt making efforts to promote tourism, generate jobs: Imran

JHELUM: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday the government was making all out efforts to promote tourism which would generate employment opportunities to the youths, as Pakistan is bestowed with abundant natural resources—including sea, high mountains, salt ranges and historical sites.

“The preservation and protection of our historical sites and national heritage is also essential to keep the coming generations informed about history,” Khan said after inaugurating the heritage trail at the al-Biruni point in Baghan Wala village at the Nandana Fort, District Jhelum.

The project was undertaken as part of the Prime Minister’s vision for the promotion of tourism and in line with the National Tourism Strategy 2020-30. Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Special Assistant to PM Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and senior officers were also present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister said no nation in the world could achieve progress and development without knowing its history, which enables it to have comparison with the current and past achievements.

“We have to protect our historical sites and buildings,” he said and remarked that the historical sites in Pakistan like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were discovered by the British. The Prime Minister appreciated the discovery of 40-feet Budha statue in Haripur by an archaeologist and called for more excavations to unearth historical places in the country.

He said Baghan Wala would be made a modern village along with the development of other facilities like hotels and restaurants for the promotion of tourism as well as for the development of the area.

Khan said development of heritage trail in the area—which was used by Abu Rehan al-Biruni for quantification of earth’s circumference in 11th century for the first time—would help develop the area and bring it on the world’s map as a tourist and historical site.

He, however, added that as tourists in Switzerland, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Turkey were properly taken care of by the local populace, the people of Baghan Wala would also have to take ownership of the heritage trail for the promotion of tourism in their area.

While interacting with the local people, Khan said the government would provide soft credit to the area youths for the establishment of hotels, restaurants and other allied facilities for tourists. He assured the local people that the government would also preserve and protect forests in the area by planting olive trees.

Zulfikar Bukhari briefed the Prime Minister about the heritage trail as well as the significance of this area in history. He said PC-1 had been prepared, which entails development of parks and other facilities in the area, 116 kilometre-long road and a summer campus for students.

Speaking on the occasion, Fawad Chaudhry said construction of Lilla-Jhelum road would help address various problems faced by the people of the area.

Punjab Chief Minister Buzdar said the provincial government would declare Baghan Wala as a “modern village”

and would construct link roads, including the one to link GT Road with Motorway.

Punjab Minister for Tourism Asif Mehmood said the provincial government was working vigorously for the development of the area in line with the vision of Prime Minister Khan.

The Prime Minister showed his keenness on the preservation and conservation of the Nandana Fort site, and its conversion into an international tourism site.