Pakistan’s New Strategic Importance makes it Hotspot for Tourism

Pakistan is a country where we have rocky mountains like Karakorum, Himalayas and Hindu Kush in the north. We also have five of the 14 highest peaks in the world above 8000m in Pakistan all in one country. K2 is the 8611 meter which is 28,251 ft and it’s the second-highest peak on earth.

Neelum Valley in Kashmir which is known as blue gem valley because of its scenic beauty of lush green mountains, Hunza Valley in Gilgit Baltistan, Swat, Naran and Kaghan Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shogran Valley where Siri and Paye are some of the most beautiful mountain scenic sites that are just 6 hours’ drive from Capital City Islamabad. We also have luxury hotels, huts, resorts and motels if we would like to stay and do camping or trekking and they are considered ideal spots for family vacations.

Skardu Valley in Chitral and within Skardu Valley Kalash is a UNESCO heritage site with a thousand-year-old culture. Ferry Meadows, another beautiful scenic spot just on the base camp of Nanga Parbat mountain range. Deosai National Park is the highest plateau on the planet and it spreads over an area of 3000 km² and it’s a remarkable beauty with biodiversity and is given the status of a national park in Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges.

Malam Jabba is a place for ski enthusiasts who come to this site to ski in the Hindu Kush range of the Swat Valley at a top elevation of 2,804 meters (9,199 ft). It’s a great tourist attraction as well. Another place that tourists would like to visit is Khunjerab Pass. It’s the highest point on the Karakoram Highway, and the highest border crossing in the world. It connects the Xinjiang province of China with Pakistan snow-capped mountains and a fertile high-altitude plateau and it’s a gateway to China and symbol of friendship between China and Pakistan.

As we move south, we come across fertile green fields in the central Punjab and it’s a Province with five rivers and fertile land and we have all major crops wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize and cotton that is grown in Punjab region as most of the population is living in rural areas. We also come across cattle farming in villages where both women and men work together in crops as its part of our rural culture and its very much intriguing for tourist who want to see how people habitat and live in Asian Indian subcontinent especially in the Punjab region it’s a place where we have a unique style of wrestling, we call Kabaddi it’s a village festival that we call “Maila”.

The rural population lifestyle, knowing their custom and culture how they live in villages it’s our cultural heritage and it is still intact and is very much visible in many underdeveloped economies as we still lack connectivity and infrastructure for many of the rural villages that are situated around the rivers that are conjoining as we move on towards the south of Punjab. The green landscapes of grassy fields stretch acres and acres as we move towards Sindh province in the south.

In south Punjab we have an Islamic Sufi heritage cultural city called Multan. It is known for the Sufi version of Islam and also called city of saints and many of the tombs of Sufi saints are seen if we visit Multan.

The great dynasty of the Mughal empire that ruled the Indian subcontinent in the period of 1556 to 1707.The Mughal culture blended Perso-Islamic and regional Indian elements are a culture that was given to this region of the Indian subcontinent for almost two centuries. In Mughal’s great dynasty the foundations of the modern Lahore Fort were laid in 1566 during the reign of Emperor Akbar. It spreads over 20 hectares and contains 21 notable monuments including Badshah Masjid, Jahangir’s tomb, Noor Jahan’s tomb, Shalamar Garden it’s a Persian style garden with artificial cascades, terraces and considered among the marvels of Mughal engineering in the era of Emperor Jehangir in Lahore.

In North Punjab one of the oldest civilization and archaeologist sites near Taxila Museum is the civilization belonging to the Neolithic era, with some ruins at Taxila dating to 600 BC. Harappa is another archaeologist site famous for Harappan civilization lasting from 3300 BC to 1300 BC and in Sindh Mohenjo-Daro that was built around 2500 BCE it was among the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world’s earliest major cities like ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia all these archaeologist sites were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1980.

The Thar desert stretches in the south of Sindh where a different sindhi culture can be seen with hardships of hot desert and food and water scarcity. All these sites are of great importance to all of the tourism attractions as its many places and architectural sites all in one place.

The CPEC in next 10 years will make Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, KPK, Gilgit Baltistan interconnected and business-hub for this region and once the infrastructure is completed with peace and stability in this region it is having one of the greatest prospects to attract tourism from all around the world.

The Gwadar Port will become the business hub port of Pakistan and the economic hub as well for Pakistan as its shortest route for China Middle East, Africa inter connectivity. China consumes 13.2% of the world’s total consumption China imports more than 60% of its total consumption and the supply line is coming from a longer route and adds a substantial amount paid for its logistics because of the long route and through sea time and money will be saved by shortening supply time and cost factor to maximize profitability.

Historically this land where Pakistan is situated has its unique importance, we have one of the oldest civilizations that had lived in this region like Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Taxila. The Great Mughal Empire who ruled the subcontinent had made many of their grand fortresses, beautiful gardens, historic monuments and tombs during the Mughal era stretching from 1500-1865.

As Pakistan is undergoing a massive project and infrastructure upgrade by the investment made by China in this region as part of the CPEC belt and road initiative. The road network will not only connect China with the Arabian sea in the south but it will connect all countries Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkey and it will be a land route to connect Asia with Europe, the Middle east and Africa.

What it means is that all countries that are in these three continents will be more interconnected and will have an opportunity to develop and invest in the resources that were untapped because these countries were lacking infrastructure and connectivity to other bordering countries.

Why we say India will miss the train if it does not create ties with China because China is much bigger economy second largest in the world and with the inclusive growth of the region it will have even bigger economy and will grow with enormous potential and will have double digit GDP growth it will make China the biggest economy of the world at the end of this decade.

Pakistan knows China’s investment in CPEC, belt and road initiative and all related projects in this region cost around US 4-8 Trillion Dollars. What it means is China connecting with Middle East, Africa and Europe with cost optimization and maximizing profitability for the inclusive growth of this region taking all strategic partners Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Syria as they are the supply route to the west of China.

The Gwadar port will connect China with the Middle East and Africa, making it a focal point and attracting foreign investment in this region. The investors are closely watching the changing geopolitical changes and will be investing for sure once the road infrastructure, airports, railway tracks, trade zones, trade cities and security of this region is established.

Pakistan and its economy will turn around Insha’Allah as we are having all types of seasons, all kinds of fruits and vegetables that are available all the year around. Pakistani people are non-racist, well known for their hospitality and generosity making Pakistan an economic hub and regional inclusive economic growth.

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Category: Travel