ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), will from next week resume flight operations to the country’s scenic Swat valley after nearly 17 years, a spokesperson for the airline said on Thursday.
Taliban militants took over Swat from 2007-2009, destroying tourism, but army operations to clear out militant safe havens and improved security in recent years have allowed tourism to re-emerge on the Hindu Kush mountain range.
“PIA is going to resume flight operations to Saidu Sharif, Swat, after 17 years,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan told Arab News, referring to Swat's only airport, closed since 2004 and equipped to handle small ATR-70 aircraft.
The purpose of resuming the flights now, Khan said, was “to encourage tourism in the region.”
“There is huge potential,” the spokesperson added.
He said there would be two weekly flights from Lahore, with a 15 minute stopover in Islamabad: “Then it [flight] will proceed to Saidu Sharif.”
In January 2019, Pakistan loosened travel restrictions in the hope of reviving tourism by offering visas on arrival to visitors from 50 countries and electronic visas to 175 nationalities.
Pakistan was last a prominent tourist destination in the 1970s when the “hippie trail” brought Western travelers through the apricot and walnut orchards of the Swat Valley and Kashmir on their way to India and Nepal.
Since then, deteriorating security had chipped away at the number of visitors. Security has since improved dramatically in recent years, with militant attacks down sharply in the mainly Muslim country of 220 million people.
A 2019 Gallup report said tourist traffic at cultural sites in Pakistan had seen an increase of 317 per cent over five years. Tourism has also been helped by a five-day visit to Pakistan in 2019 by British royals Prince William and Kate Middleton.
PIA to resume flights to Swat Valley airport after 17 years
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PIA to resume flights to Swat Valley airport after 17 years
- Taliban militants took over Swat during 2007-2009, destroying tourism in the picturesque valley
- Operations to clear out militants, improved security in recent years have allowed tourism to re-emerge
Pakistanis among six injured by debris in Abu Dhabi as UAE intercepts drones
- Iran launched drone attacks and missiles at Gulf nations, including UAE, since Saturday after it was attacked by US and Israel
- Minor injuries reported among six Pakistani, Nepalese nationals in two locations across Industrial City of Abu Dhabi Phase 2
ISLAMABAD: Six people were injured by falling debris in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, among them Pakistani nationals, after the UAE’s air defense system intercepted drones, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement.
Iran has launched a barrage of missiles and drone attacks at the UAE and other Gulf countries to target facilities hosting US troops since Saturday. The attacks come in response to coordinated strikes by the US and Israel against Iran last week after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office, in a post on social media platform X, said authorities responded to an incident of debris falling in two locations across the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi Phase 2 (ICAD II) “following the successful interception of drones by air defense systems.”
“The incident resulted in minor and moderate injuries to six Pakistani and Nepali nationals,” the statement said.
The statement did not mention how many Pakistani nationals out of the six were injured in the attack.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office urged the public to seek information from only government sources and avoid spreading rumors or unverified information.
Pakistan has asked its citizens in Gulf states to exercise caution, avoid travel and strictly follow official adviseries ever since tensions escalated in the region on Saturday.
The UAE is home to over 1.5 million Pakistani expatriates, one of the largest communities of overseas Pakistanis worldwide.
Pakistan has condemned the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran but also criticized Tehran’s attacks that have targeted countries in the Gulf region, advising all parties to exercise restraint.
