Communities hail support for better life

Islamabad : The communities of Shigar and Khaplu areas in Gilgit-Baltistan region have thanked the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan for their continuous support to them for the better quality of life.

A ceremony was held by the AKCS-P and Tourism Promotion Services (Pakistan) Limited to share profits earned from the operations of Shigar Fort and Khaplu Palace Serenas with the communities of Shigar and Khaplu, and the Support Fund to Women Enterprise CIQAM from the revenue of Serena Altit Fort Residence for their partnership. Norwegian Ambassador Per Albert Ilsaas was the chief guest. Chairman of the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan Akbar Ali Pesnani and Chief Executive Officer of Serena Aziz Boolani also attended the event.

The community representatives of Town Management Societies of Shigar and Khaplu, head of CIQAM Green Solutions Aqeela Bano and representatives of the Norwegian Embassy and Serena Hotels also participated in the event.

CEO of the Aga Khan Cultural Service Tausif Ahmad welcomed the guests and said it’s the moment to cherish the long relationship with the communities that restoration and reutilisation of the model got disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic was being revived. He said the unique Khaplu Palace & Shigar Fort has brought cash returns for the community for its public welfare projects.

Aziz Boolani said the projects were indeed an extension of the Serena Hotels' corporate social responsibility, which not only provided jobs to the local community but also created a value chain for its operations, benefiting the locals in all possible ways. Akbar Ali Pesnani thanked the Royal Norwegian Embassy for their consistent support to AKCS-P for its interventions in Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab on various Heritage Restoration Projects. He reiterated AKCS-P’s commitment to communities in its areas of operations and shared some of the plans in various parts of Pakistan.

The community representatives thanked AKCS-P and Serena Hotels for their continuous support to the local communities enabling them to improve their quality of life.