CHITRAL: The local people associated with tourism sector said that Pakistan was listed among the top travel destinations for 2020 by United Kingdom after the visit of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Chitral in October last year.

They said that advisory to the tourists issued by the British authorities declaring Pakistan a safe tourist destination in the wake of the royal couple’s visit to the country released the bottleneck since the war against terrorism was launched two decades ago.

Shahzada Sirajul Mulk, the member of Prime Minister’s Task Force on Tourism, said that the successful visit of the British royal couple erased the misperceptions about Pakistan. He said that the visit of the British high commissioner to Chitral in October exactly one year after the visit of the royal couple further strengthened the notion about the area leading to attract tourists.

The founding president of Chitral Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sartaj Ahmed Khan, said that the visit of the royal couple and the high commissioner to Chitral changed its position and made it again the most cherished destination for the tourists.

He said that the people of Chitral had accorded a warm welcome to the royal couple last year as well as to the British diplomat in the current year as they knew that their arrival to the valley would send a message to the world about the congeniality of Chitral.

DRAFT LAW: The drafting of proposed Kalasha Marriage Act has begun this week, which will be tabled in the provincial assembly in January next year.

Sources told Dawn that the process was being aided financially by Pakistan Council of World Religions-Faiths Friends (PCWRF), an organisation striving for unity and harmony among different religions.

They said that the proposed Act would help settle a number of controversies that popped up regarding matrimonial matters and inheritance with the advent of modern age. Presently, there are no legal provisions specific to Kalash, who are known as the primitive people.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2020