Islamabad/JHELUM – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said the government was doing all to promote tourism and generate employment opportunities for youth in Pakistan, which was 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,” Imran Khan said after inaugurating the heritage trail at the Al Biruni point (Baghan Wala Village) at the Nandana Fort in district Jhelum.
The project was undertaken as part of the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the promotion of tourism and in line with the National Tourism Strategy 2020-30. Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Ahmad Chaudhry, Special Assistant to PM Zulfiqar 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 enabled 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 in Haripur by an archeologist and called for more excavations to find historical places in the country.
He said Baghan Wala would be made a modern village along with the development of other facilities like hotels, restaurants etc., for the promotion of tourism as well as for the development of local area.
‘Abu Rehan Al-Biruni’
Prime Minister Imran 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 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.
The Prime Minister while interacting with the local people said the government would provide soft credit to youth of area 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.
Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari briefed the Prime Minister about the heritage trail as well as the significance of this area in the history.
He said Abu Rehan Al-Biruni found the radius of earth at this point in 11th century for having the true direction of Kaaba, whereas the western world did the same in 16th century.
“It speaks volumes about the capabilities and mathematic expertise of Muslim scientists,” he remarked.
SAPM Bukhari said PC-1 had been prepared for development of the area under which, besides the development of parks and other facilities in the area, 116 kilometer long road would be constructed and a summer campus would also be established for the education of students. Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry speaking on the occasion said construction of Lilla-Jhelum road would help address various problems faced by the people of the area.
‘Modern village’
Chief Minister Punjab Usman 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 Provincial Minister for Tourism Asif Mehmood in his remarks on the occasion said the provincial government was working vigorously for the development of area in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Prime Minister was keen on preservation and conservation of the Nandana Fort site, and its conversion into an international tourism site.
The site’s archeological significance dates back to 11th century when famous scholar Abu Rehan Al-Biruni during his stay quantified the circumference of the Earth. Later he wrote a famous book about the region and mentioned Nandana as a great center of learning. There are six more historic sites near the Nandana Fort including Nandana temple, Katas temple, salt-mines of Khewra, Malot Fort and Throne of Babur.
These sites will become part of the heritage trail and the tourists will be able to visit these places in one go.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan, as part of his efforts and vision to protect historical sites and promote tourism in the country, on Sunday inaugurated Tilla Jogian and Salt Range National Parks.
The Prime Minister, who also planted an olive tree on the occasion, was briefed about the development and importance of two national parks, which were included in the six protected areas.
Besides the two national parks other protected areas included Kheri Murat National Park, Chinji National Park, Namal Wetland and Chashma Wetland Nature Reserves.
The Prime Minister was briefed by Special Assistant on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam about the protection of wildlife and environment in the area of Salt Range.
All such sites of historical and cultural significance in the country were being identified in line with the vision of the Prime Minster to bring before the world the country’s rich heritage and cultural diversity.
The local population will gain economic benefits as tourists will get attracted to these historic sites.
First-ever tourist map
Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday said as the country had enormous potential of tourism with diversity of mountains, coastlines, historic and cultural sites as well as religious places, the government would develop Pakistan’s first-ever “tourist map” to attract local and foreign tourists.
“When compared with Turkey and Malaysia, which earn $ 40 billion, $ 20 billion per annum from tourism, Pakistan despite having numerous tourist sites earns nothing,” Imran Khan said while talking to media-persons at Nandana Fort (Baghan Wala Village) where he inaugurated the heritage trail.
The Prime Minister said that he wanted to develop and protect this area of historic significance – which he had visited some 25 to 30 years back – as a tourist site for the benefit of local people and the country.
Highlighting the historic importance of the area, he said that Abu Rehan Al-Biruni stayed at Nandana Fort, which used to be a large international university, for the quantification of earth’s circumference for the first time in 11th century.
The Prime Minister said the government would develop Baghan Wala as a modern village, protect its heritage, help establish tourist facilities such as hotels and restaurants and bring the areas to the world tourism map.
To a question, he said that with Turkey attracting tourists due to 2000 years old history of Istanbul and Malaysia attracting tourists due to coastline, Pakistan also had the oldest cities like Peshawar, Lahore and Shah Pur of Mughal era. The Prime Minister, however, added that tourists would only come when the tourist sites were developed along with required facilities. He further said that the promotion of tourism will not only bring in dollars in the country but will also create employment opportunities.
The Prime Minister said that besides the mountain tourism which attracted the local and foreign tourist interested in skiing and trekking, Pakistan also had famous historical sites like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa; Gandhara civilizations and religious sites for Budhists, Sikhs and Hindus.
Similarly, he said, with the shrines of various Sufi saints including Baba Farid, Data Ganj Bakhsh, Bullaih Shah, Pakistan also offered religious / Sufism tourism for Muslims across the world.
The Prime Minister said that despite insufficient facilities, domestic tourism was also on the rise in Pakistan as large number of people from across the country visit the mountainous areas and even sleep in their cars and vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister in a tweet posted on his social media account said,” Today I visited Nandana Fort where Al Buruni spent years in an Observatory and measured the circumference of the earth with amazing accuracy almost a 1000 years ago”.
“We have decided to preserve the sight and build an infrastructure there so it becomes accessible to tourists”, he added.
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