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
Captain Agha reiterates Pakistan’s refusal to play India at the T20 World Cup
- India vs. Pakistan is usually the showpiece match in world tournaments, with the eyeballs on it rising into the hundreds of millions
- The boycott has caused an uproar and the International Cricket Council is trying to resolve the issue with the Pakistan Cricket Board
COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has reiterated that his team will abide by his government’s ruling not to play India in the much-anticipated Twenty20 World Cup fixture next week.
India vs. Pakistan is usually the showpiece match in world tournaments — the eyeballs on it rise into the hundreds of millions. The boycott has caused an uproar and the International Cricket Council is trying to resolve the problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
At a captains’ media conference on Thursday, Agha repeated the team will follow its government’s advice.
“The India game is not in our control,” Agha said. “The government has decided and we respect that. Whatever they are saying we’ll do.
“We are playing three other (group) games and we are excited about that.”
Pakistan’s World Cup opener is against the Netherlands on Saturday in Colombo. It will play all of its games in co-host Sri Lanka. Namibia and the United States are also in the group. The India game is scheduled for Feb. 15 in Colombo.
In Mumbai, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said they were going to Colombo whether the match was on or not.
“(Our) mindset is pretty clear,” Yadav said. “We did not refuse to play them. The refusal came from them. ICC organized the fixture. BCCI and (Indian) government decided to play in neutral venue in coordination with ICC. Our flight to Colombo is booked. So we are going. We’ll see what happens later.”
The Pakistan government decision came after Bangladesh was kicked out of the World Cup by the ICC. Bangladesh refused to play in India for security reasons and wanted its games moved to Sri Lanka but the ICC dismissed those concerns.
Agha said he was saddened that Bangladesh wasn’t playing in the World Cup for the first time and asked Bangladeshi fans to back his team.
Pakistan has accused the ICC of double standards and not accommodating security concerns. India and Pakistan do not play in each other’s territory and meet in ICC tournaments only at neutral venues.
Their countries are embroiled in military and diplomatic tensions which have spilled into sports for more than a decade. Last year at the men’s Asian Cup and Women’s World Cup, the teams did not shake hands when they met.
