Tag: pakistan

Pakistan’s famous truck art will move from its highways to the skies, as a flying academy is painting a two-seater Cessna aircraft with the colorful technique. Such art has become one of Pakistan’s best-known cultural exports in recent years. UNESCO, for example, has been using truck art, blended with indigenous themes, to promote girls’ education in a northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. With elaborate and flamboyant motifs, Pakistani truck art has inspired gallery exhibitions abroad and prompted stores in Western cities to sell miniatures. “We want to show the world that Pakistan is not all about Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ... Read more

More than 30% of civilian pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses and are not qualified to fly, the country’s aviation minister has revealed. Addressing Pakistan’s National Assembly, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots in the country “did not take the exam themselves” and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf. “They don’t have flying experience,” he said. Pakistan has 860 active pilots serving its domestic airlines — including the country’s Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flagship — as well as a number of foreign carriers. PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately. “PIA ... Read more

Air Canada has suspended flights to Mumbai and New Delhi after two Indian fighter jets were shot down by Pakistani military in an escalating crisis between India and Pakistan. As per media reports, the airline diverted a flight en route to New Delhi over the Atlantic Ocean and landed back in Toronto. A second flight from Vancouver to New Delhi was also cancelled. However, a flight from Toronto to Mumbai is still scheduled to run tonight because it takes a different route from the New Delhi flights. The suspension of flights comes after Pakistan shot down two Indian warplanes over ... Read more

A recent report of World Tourism and Travel Council anticipates Pakistan’s tourism industry has the potential to grow to around USD 40 billion within the next 10 years. The ruling government led by Imran Khan has already vowed in its election campaign that it would promote Pakistan as ‘Asia’s Best Kept Secret’ in global tourism market. The government is confident that tourism would be contributing Rs.1 trillion to Pakistan economy by 2025. Countries like Switzerland, Thailand, Philippines, Maldives and Sri Lanka demonstrate that sustainable tourism is a tool for development. The initiative of the government under the National Action Plan ... Read more

Visa fees in Pakistan will be made easier according to a new visa regime announced by the government. The government has announced plans to relax visa restrictions for visitors from 90 countries, including US and European Union, in a bid to boost its tourism sector. The Press Information Department of the Ministry of Information in Pakistan issued a circular highlighting the changes of the visa regime. These changes include: visa on arrival for 50 countries; family visit: 5 years multiple entry visa in 7-10 working days; border crossing will be open/non restricted; and unprecedented liberalisation of visa regime. Cabinet minister ... Read more

Watching out what’s hidden in the small country of an area 796,096 sq.km? Your excitement would know no bounds after you landed in this land of beauty. Each part of Pakistan has an enriched speciality of beauty to which you will be spellbound. Your words would not quite enough to praise the scenes that this beautiful land casts in front of you. Attractive. Huh? You must be. The beauty that Pakistan is blessed with is quite unique. Nevertheless, if it’s not unique how an increased rate of tourism can be noticed? Actually, media casts a darkened and absolutely wrong picture ... Read more

With vision to attract more tourists to the country, Pakistan government is planning to ease visa restrictions for visitors from 55 countries, including most European nations. Inbound tourism in the country has been almost dormant following the 9/11 attacks in the US. “We are reviewing our visa policies. We are trying to bring 55 countries into a visa-free region, which includes most of the European countries,” said Fawad Chaudhry, Information Minster, to the media. When Imran Khan has sworn in as the Prime Minister, he has declared that Pakistan would give priority to tourism, to explore the abundant tourism potential ... Read more

As part of the government’s anti-corruption drive, Ministry of Interior decided to make its visa extension facility online. With ‘Pakistan Online Visa System’, the ministry is set to launch the project within the next 2 weeks. The ministry has proposed the online visa programme to the Prime Minister’s Office as part of the government’s efforts to curb corruption in the offices dealing with the public. A senior official of the ministry said that with introduction of online visa extension system, the applicant will not need to visit the ministry for getting extension in his/her visa; rather he/she will apply online. When ... Read more

Denmark has issued a travel advisory cautioning its citizens to travel Pakistan only if they have special reasons to visit as the country is unsafe and prone to terrorist attacks. “There is a risk of terrorist attacks, kidnappings and violent disturbances throughout the country. Risks are so serious that you should have very special reasons to visit the country,” said the Danish foreign ministry. “There is a high risk of terrorist attacks, kidnappings and violent disturbances throughout the country. Risks are so serious that you should have very special reasons to visit the country,” said the ministry. You should be ... Read more

Vancouver East The Canadian government has revised its travel advisory for Pakistan and removed Islamabad from the list of “avoid non-essential travel” cities. “It has been observed that there is a decrease in risk level for Canadians to travel to Islamabad,” said a release from Global Affairs Department. The Pakistani high commissioner had impressed upon the Canadian authorities to revise the advisory for Pakistan as the security situation in the country had improved significantly. In the first step towards that direction, the Canadian government informed about excluding Islamabad from the “avoid non-essential travel” category and said that further steps will ... Read more

Tourism enthusiasts are hopeful about the revival of tourism in Pakistan, after Imran Khan has sworn in as the Prime Minister. In his first speech to the nation as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan said the country have a number of God given tourist destinations and huge tourism potential. He promised to promote tourism to strengthen the country’s economy. “The government will promote and position Pakistan as Asia’s Best Kept Secret in the global tourism market in order to boost tourism,” said Raja Khurram Nawaz, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) told media recently. He said ... Read more

Emirates has announced that it will deploy a one-off A380 service to Islamabad on 8 July 2018. The airline’s iconic double-decker will make its inaugural arrival in Islamabad on a special flight EK2524/EK2525. The A380 flight will depart Dubai on 8 July 2018 at 08 am and arrive in Islamabad at 12.10 pm. The flight will depart Islamabad at 15.40 pm arriving in Dubai at 17.45 pm on the same day. “We are proud to bring our flagship A380 aircraft to Islamabad, and we look forward to showcasing our innovative products on-board this iconic aircraft with the signature Emirates service. ... Read more

The no change in visa rates for Pakistani citizens confirms that they will still have to pay 0.1 million to rupees 0.4 million for attaining the tourist visa. Reports say that the Pakistan embassy in Saudi and the Pakistan’s foreign office wasn’t aware of this policy and are yet to respond on this. The double pricing in visa policy of Saudi has come under discussion and has even put Pakistan under scanner. The reduction in the visa fee was initially denied by Saudi Gazette, the leading English-language daily newspaper published in Jeddah. However, they gave credibility to the news as ... Read more

Pakistan, with its improved security arrangements, has attracted 1.75 million tourists in 2017, registering a 300 per cent growth since past few years. The country recorded a significant increase in the annual tourism rate and business traveling. Domestic travelers have increased 30 per cent. According to Jovago, the top hotel booking and e-commerce website in Pakistan, hotel bookings has increased by 80-90 per cent in 2017. Recently the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the University of Management and Technology (UMT) Lahore signed a MoU for the sponsorship of PTDC’s publicity material including banners, website, seminars and conferences. Products and service ... Read more

The long-awaited Islamabad International Airport (IIA) is all set to begin operations for international and domestic flights on May 3, replacing the old Benazir Bhutto International Airport in twin city of Rawalpindi. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is expected to formally inaugurate the airport. IIA is Pakistan’s largest international airport, designed for up to 15 million passengers annually in the first phase, and up to 25 million in future. Spread over 19 square kilometres, the new, Y-shaped airport is located 30km from the heart of Islamabad’s business centre, Blue Area. It will be Pakistan’s first airport to accommodate the double-deck Airbus ... Read more