ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has taken “numerous measures” to promote religious tourism as it has the potential to revive the country’s national economy, a spokesperson of the Pakistan Tourism Development Cooperation (PTDC) said on Sunday.
According to the PTDC spokesperson, the South Asian country has a total of 480 tourist destinations out of which 120 are religious sites. Pakistan is host to religious sites and places of worship of some of the most prominent religions in the world such as Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and others.
“The government has already taken numerous measures to promote religious tourism in the country as this sector can play an important role in reviving the national economy,” the PTDC spokesperson was quoted as saying in a report published by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
The spokesperson said that almost 0.9 million international tourists visit Pakistan’s recreational and historical sites annually. He added that the government was improving the law and order situation to attract more tourists from various countries as “religious-based tourism is flourishing and attracting different communities.”
“It is important to realize that religious beliefs and practices are sacrosanct to their followers,” the spokesperson said. “Acknowledging, respecting, and accommodating these beliefs generates massive goodwill.”
In July, Pakistan welcomed senior Buddhist monks and delegates from various countries in Islamabad for a three-day symposium to shed light on the Gandhara civilization’s importance and to spotlight the South Asian country’s rich Buddhist heritage.
In November 2019, the Pakistani and Indian prime minister inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor, a 4km-long visa-free passageway for Sikh pilgrims to travel from Dera Baba Nanak in India to the final resting place of their religion’s founder, Guru Nanak, in Kartarpur, Pakistan, in their respective countries.
Pakistan says taking ‘numerous steps’ to promote religious tourism
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Pakistan says taking ‘numerous steps’ to promote religious tourism
- Religious tourism has potential to revive national economy, says Pakistan tourism body spokesperson
- Pakistan’s tourism development body spokesperson says out of 480 tourist sites, country has 120 religious ones
Pakistan says over 44.3 million children vaccinated as year’s first anti-polio drive concludes
- Pakistan launched this year’s first week-long anti-polio nationwide campaign on Feb. 2, targeting over 45 million children
- Pakistan’s attempts to eliminate polio have been hindered in past by militant attacks targeting polio workers, security teams
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities have vaccinated over 44.3 million children during the week-long anti-polio nationwide campaign, the first of this year which concluded last week, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Monday.
Pakistan launched the first anti-polio nationwide campaign on Feb. 2 to target over 45 million children. Over 400,000 trained polio workers took part in the door-to-door campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five against the disease, the government said.
“More than 44.3 million children were administered polio vaccine drops during the campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement.
The anti-polio campaign, which concluded on Sunday, saw over 22.9 million vaccinated in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province. In Sindh, over 10.5 million children were vaccinated, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 7.13 million, in Balochistan 2.36 million, in Islamabad over 455,000, in Gilgit-Baltistan over 261,000 and in Azad Kashmir over 673,000 in seven days, data shared by the NEOC said.
The center said that the campaign was conducted in Pakistan and Afghanistan simultaneously, the only two countries were the disease remains endemic.
Last year, Pakistan reported 31 polio cases, a significant drop from the alarming 74 cases reported in the country in 2024. The South Asian nation reported six cases in 2023 and only one in 2021, but saw a sharp resurgence in 2024.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks, particularly in KP and Balochistan.
“Polio workers and security personnel who performed duties during the campaign are the nation’s true heroes,” the NEOC said.
