PAKISTAN has deserts, beaches and some of the world’s highest, most stunning mountains. We have plenty of religious, cultural and heritage sites too. These are not just related to the Mughal and British eras. Our history goes back thousands of years, and we have the sites to show for it. Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Taxila are excellent examples but there are many others. Baba Nanak was born and has his resting place in what is now Pakistan. But we do very poorly in tourism.
I recently came to Turkey for a trip. The contrast could not be greater. It is estimated that Turkey received around $40 billion in the first nine months of 2023 through tourism. Seeing the place one can believe that. It was simple to get the online visa that was granted an hour after the application. Immigration formalities took two minutes in Istanbul. The officer asked no questions; she just checked our visas and let us proceed. The green channel took care of Customs and we were outside in five…
