KARACHI: Raja Nasir Ali Khan, the minister of tourism and sports for the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region, said Pakistan wanted to use the Dubai Expo to showcase the country’s tourism potential and attract Gulf nations to a planned winter sports festival this year, particularly to participate in a desert rally.
Gilgit-Baltistan is home to the Himalayas and the world’s second highest mountain K2. In 2018, it was listed by Forbes among the 10 “coolest places” to visit. The region’s economy is largely dependent on tourism and was severely hit last year as outbreaks of COVID-19 and travel curbs deterred tourists from flocking to GB’s glacial lakes, valleys and 8,000-meter-plus peaks.
This year, the government is banking on the arrival of a large number of tourists on account of fewer coronavirus infections and the loosening of domestic travel restrictions as well as visas on arrival for 65 nationalities.
From Gulf nations, Pakistan hopes people will come to participate in a rally in the Sarfaranga Desert, also known as the Skardu Cold desert, the tourism minister told Arab News.
Located at a height of 7,500 feet, it is the world’s highest desert where car rallies have been held for the last many years.
Khan said Pakistan had set up a huge pavilion, costing $28.72 million, at the Expo 2020 Dubai which will kick off next month, and hoped to use the platform to showcase the country’s “tourism potential” for winter and summer sports, particularly before Gulf countries.
“The people [from Gulf nations] will have opportunities to get firsthand knowledge of what we [Pakistan] have to offer them in northern parts of the country,” Khan said. “We will showcase our products like dry fruits and handicrafts and gems stones.”
“Through Dubai Expo 2020 our target is Gulf countries as we want their people should participate in the cold desert rally,” he said, adding that 150 drivers and over 100 bikers had participated in the last event.
Khan said he expected participation to increase by at least 50 percent this year as coronavirus rules had been relaxed.
“We want international participation, especially from Arab countries, for the event,” the minister said.
Pakistan hopes Dubai Expo pavilion will attract Gulf nations to desert rally this winter
https://arab.news/wrqth
Pakistan hopes Dubai Expo pavilion will attract Gulf nations to desert rally this winter
- Sarfaranga Desert, located at a height of 7,500 feet, is the world’s highest desert
- A car rally has been held in the ‘cold desert’ for the last few years
Pakistan reports first wild polio case of 2026 despite vaccination campaigns
- Four-year-old girl infected in Sindh’s Sujawal district as virus persists in high-risk areas
- Pakistan conducted last nationwide campaign in January, vaccinating over 45 million children
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported its first wild poliovirus case of the year, health authorities said on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the disease in high-risk areas despite ongoing vaccination campaigns.
The latest infection was confirmed in a four-year-old girl in Sujawal district of the southern Sindh province, according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis, mainly in children under the age of five. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.
“The case was reported through the polio surveillance network and confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad,” the statement said.
“The Polio Eradication Initiative is already analyzing the best response to tackle and prevent further transmission.”
In 2026, Pakistan conducted a nationwide polio campaign in January that vaccinated more than 45 million children, while the next national campaign is planned for April.
Since 1994, Pakistan has cut polio cases by 99.8 percent through vaccination efforts, reducing infections from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025.
Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025. Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than half of the country’s polio cases in 2025, with 17 of the 31 infections reported from the region.
According to health authorities, 74 cases were reported in 2024.
More than 200 polio workers and police officers assigned to protect polio teams have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to health and security officials.
Militants often falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslim children.
The vaccination campaigns are also undermined by parental refusals in remote regions.
