ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday called for more facilities for Chitral as this region holds significant potential and global destination.

The Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination met under the chairmanship of Senator Dilawar Khan to review a wide-ranging agenda, with a primary focus on the promotion of tourism in Chitral, institutional coordination and national development programmes.

Besides other agenda items, the committee took up the issue of promotion of tourism in Chitral, raised by Senator Mohammad Talha Mehmood and received detailed briefings from officials of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination.

Officials informed the committee that Chitral is the largest tourism area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has been declared a major hub for adventure and cultural tourism. The region includes key valleys such as Reshun, Garm Chashma, Laspur and Kalash, while Shandur Pass, Kalash Valley and Chitral Gol National Park remain major attractions.

The committee was briefed that after the 18th Amendment, tourism was devolved to the provinces, and in 2022, PTDC motels were transferred accordingly. The committee was told that a total of 19 tourism properties were handed over to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including five key motels in Chitral. These five properties have now been leased to Green Tourism under the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which operates under the Ministry of Defence, with the federal government to receive 10pc of the profits under Revenue Sharing Agreement.

During the course of the meeting, officials stated that 9.5 million domestic tourists visit Chitral annually while foreign tourist numbers have shown a notable increase, rising from 1,500 in 2022 to 2,700 in 2025.

The committee was informed that Kalash Valley Development Authority has also been established, and the region has been included in the provincial tourism master plan, with reported investment interest from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2026