In an effort to revive its tourism industry, Pakistan is going to relax its visa policy for 55 foreign countries. The country’s tourism sector got tremendously affected by Islamist violence aftermath the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Pakistan’s visa relaxation offer of this time is for European nations in a greater number.
“We are reassessing our visa policies. We are trying to take 55 countries into a visa-free region and that incorporates most of the European countries. I’m happy our travel proclamations are changing,” as stated by Pakistan’s information minister, Fawad Chaudhry.
This development has happened after Portugal announced Pakistan as a safe territory to travel, this month. At the same time France has relaxed its proclamations on travel to the South Asian nations as well.
Pakistan is a country which is often interpreted as a war-torn territory and tourism in Pakistan is almost non-existent. Only a limited number of adventure backpackers and die-hard climbers travel to Pakistan every year.
Since tourism influences a country’s economy to a larger extent, Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually emphasizing on reviving it for the same with an ambition to create an Islamic welfare state in Pakistan. More often visitors to the country usually complain about an rigorous visa process. Like recently for a promotional visit, former Real Madrid soccer stars, Kaka of Brazil and Luis Figo of Portugal were denied visas to the country.
Pakistan has a wrong reputation as a prominent tourist destination even in Seventies when western travellers entered the nation through the apricot and walnut orchards of the Swat Valley and Kashmir on their way to India and Nepal, with the “hippie trail” (an overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal).
Since then, foreign visitors nor much excited to travel into the country because of its deteriorating security condition and the imposition of a rigid interpretation of Islamic laws.
Despite this Pakistan’s involvement in the U.S.- drove war in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, the country was shaken by heavy militant attacks for about a decade, regularly.
However with the new Governance, the situation has improved dramatically and militant attacks have gone down distinctly.
To its merit British Airways taking off its restrictions to visit Pakistan, announced recently that it would resume flights to the country next year, Which is very welcoming for Pakistan. British Airways is the first Western airline to restart such service after a gap of 10 years
