PESHAWAR: A night tourism event in Pakistan’s ancient northwestern city of Peshawar this week allowed tourists to explore its rich history, culture and heritage in an area otherwise affected by militant violence and extremism.
Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, is one of the oldest cities of the South Asian region that lies west of the River Indus. Home to various forts and traditional cuisines, Pakistan’s restive northwest has reeled from militant violence, especially since November 2022 after a fragile truce between the state and the Pakistani Taliban broke down.
To revive tourism in the ancient city, a local organization by the name of “Tour Da Pekhawar” organized the city’s first night tourism event on Saturday evening. The company, set up in 2017, says it aims to promote the city’s soft image.
The event was launched in collaboration with the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in KP, with the Pakistan Army’s support. At least 40 individuals, including families from Peshawar and other cities in Pakistan, attended the event.
“So, it [night tourism] is [meant to] promote culture, to promote our heritage,” Saqib Raza, a spokesperson for the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, told Arab News. Raza said the city lacked recreational spots hence the event aimed to ensure tourists felt “good vibes” while visiting some of the city’s historical spots.
The event kicked off with a visit to the Peshawar Museum, one of the oldest museums in the region established in 1907. Tourists were briefed about the city’s history, especially about the era when it was an integral part of the Gandhara Civilization.
Participants were treated to the famous Pashto folk song “Lar Sha Pekhawar Ta,” which translates into “Go to Peshawar,” as they were driven through the city in a traditional Bradford Bus adorned with the iconic Pakistani truck art.
The bus entered the city through the famous Lahori Gate and took tourists to several spots in Peshawar, including an excavation spot at Gor Khatri. They were then taken to the Goraknath Temple, which was built in 1851 and was constructed in devotion to Hindu saint Guru Gorakhnath.
The tourists then enjoyed the city’s signature aromatic kehwa or green tea before embarking on a trip to Sethi House, a 19th-century archaeological site built in 1886 by the Sethis, an influential family of businessmen who traced their origins from Central Asian countries.
The Sethi House’s architecture is inspired from Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan.
The tourists then visited the Cunningham Clock Tower or Ghanta Ghar area in Peshawar before they took in the sights of the famous Qissa Khawani or “storytellers bazaar.” The bazaar used to be a bustling place centuries ago, when it was a hub on the famous Silk Road where travelers and locals congregated to hear stories of far-off places.
The tourists enjoyed the sights they had taken in throughout the tour.
“I never got a chance to explore the civilization and the history of this city,” Nauman Alizai, who shifted to Peshawar from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi in 2014, told Arab News.
“For the first time, I saw a poster and advertisement of Tour Da Pekhawar, and then I joined it today.”
University student Emaan Khan said she wasn’t aware of Peshawar’s rich history despite living in the city since her childhood.
“I did not have enough knowledge about the history of Peshawar nor have I roamed in these places before,” Khan told Arab News. “This is the first time I am roaming in these places.”
Shahid Ali Khan, the chief executive officer of Tour Da Pekhawar, said it was his idea to start a night tourism event in the city.
“We discussed this idea before Ramadan, it is happening and now today, it is happening,” he said. “We will [be] regularly organizing this in the future, we are also starting a heritage tour of [tribal district] Khyber.”
Raza said the provincial government was aiming to attract more tourists from different regions of the country and even those from abroad.
“Our region has seen so much hard time for peace,” Raza said. “So this is a very good opportunity for the visitors to come, to join us and to see our culture, our heritage because we own it and this is what we are really.”
In a first, night tourism event spotlights Peshawar’s rich history and culture
https://arab.news/ngdc3
In a first, night tourism event spotlights Peshawar’s rich history and culture
- Tourists explored Peshawar Museum, Qissa Khawani bazaar and Sethi Mohallah neighborhood to witness city’s rich heritage
- Peshawar is capital of northwestern Pakistan, where tourism has taken a hit due to surging militancy, especially since November 2022
Pakistan to open today televised bidding for privatization of loss-making flag carrier PIA
- Pakistan plans to privatize 75 percent of the carrier, while retaining its name and branding
- Three contenders remain in race to buy the airline after Fauji Fertilizer Company’s withdrawal
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to hold a live broadcast bidding process today, Tuesday, for the privatization of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), officials said, with three consortiums contending to buy the loss-making national flag carrier.
The government prequalified four investor groups in July, but Fauji Fertilizer Company, part of a military-backed conglomerate, withdrew from the process recently.
The remaining contenders include two consortiums led by Lucky Cement and Arif Habib Corporation, and a private airline Airblue.
Pakistan aims to privatize 75 percent of the carrier, while retaining its name and branding, according to PM Shehbaz Sharif’s office. The decision marks Islamabad’s most aggressive push in decades to reform the debt-ridden airline, which has accumulated more than $2.8 billion in losses.
Speaking to Arab News, Muhammad Ali, adviser to the prime minister on privatization, said the exit of Fauji Fertilizer Company from the bidding process does not preclude future collaboration.
“We don’t know if Fauji [Fertilizer Company] will partner or not with the winning bidder. However, they have withdrawn from the race,” he said.
The sealed bids will be submitted by the bidders at 10:30am on Tuesday.
“Reference price for PIACL’s (Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited) bidding will only be approved by the Privatization Commission Board and the Cabinet Committee on Privatization after bids have been received,” the government said in a statement on Monday.
“The bids will be opened in a ceremony starting at 3:30pm [on Tuesday] in the presence of the bidders. The bids and the reference prices will be announced and the bidding will be concluded as per agreed terms.”
PIA’s sale is a central to Islamabad’s economic reform agenda under a $7 billion bailout agreed last year with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Officials say the airline’s privatization is essential to halt recurring losses, revive international routes and ease pressure on the budget.
This is Pakistan’s third attempt at PIA privatization, following a failed 2024 auction that received only one bid of $35 million that was far below the government’s nearly $300 million asking price, according to Privatization Commission records. Islamabad is targeting $302 million in privatization proceeds this year.
“Privatization of PIA will avoid burden on exchequer, expand airline’s fleet, improve service quality, create employment opportunities, and help Pakistan’s aviation, tourism and GDP (gross domestic product) to grow,” Ali said.
Once considered among Asia’s leading airlines, PIA has accumulated more than $2.8 billion in losses. The airline has struggled with chronic mismanagement, political interference, overstaffing, mounting debt and operational issues that led to a 2020 ban on flights to the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States (US) after a pilot licensing scandal, further shrinking PIA revenues.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad said PIA used to be the region’s “best airline” in the 70s and 80s, adding that Pakistani diaspora in various countries wants their own airline to flourish again.
“Airlines help turnaround the economy, promote growth, investment and economic activity through multiple ways,” he said, noting, “We are a country of 250 million people, with a huge diaspora.”
Former finance minister Miftah Ismail believed the airline’s privatization would benefit consumers and taxpayers even if it did not materially move the macroeconomic needle.
“PIA’s privatization will have a positive impact on the aviation industry,” he told Arab News. “There will be greater competition and hopefully better service for consumers. It will also save the money people of Pakistan have to pay every year for PIA to keep going.”
Ismail noted the government had already transferred around Rs800 billion ($2.85 billion) of PIA’s liabilities onto the public balance sheet ahead of the sale.
“So, PIA has lost 800 billion rupees of people’s money. That money is gone forever and the consumers will have to pay, but at least further losses will be cut,” he said.
To a question, he said the process of privatization was “transparent” this time around but cautioned that broader privatization momentum remains limited only to state assets like power companies, oil exploration groups and gas distribution companies.
Islamabad has launched a five-year privatization plan covering 24 state entities between 2024 and 2029, including the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, three banks, power distribution companies, and the Postal Life Insurance Company, according to the Privatization Commission.
Aviation industry veterans say structural constraints under state ownership doomed repeated turnaround plans for PIA.
Speaking to Arab News, former PIA chief executive officer Musharraf Rasool Cyan pointed to “pervasive interference” and “rigid” public-sector rules for the failure of PIA.
“Due to interference by institutions like the judiciary and even parliament, the management cannot take market-aligned decisions,” he said, citing non-performance-based contracts, slow procurement rules, union pressures and corruption.
Cyan said PIA failed to adapt as competition intensified from the 1990s, lagged in network optimization and technology, and suffered from weak accountability.
“The work culture became more political than professional,” he said, adding the airline now needs equity injections and a fleet renewal.
