Tourism is future of Pakistan: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said that tourism was the future of Pakistan, and if this sector was developed, then Pakistan could repay all foreign loans and earn as much as from exports and remittances.

He was addressing a ceremony in connection with inauguration of converting the sprawling Punjab House in Murree into Kohsar University. He also inaugurated upgradation of TB Sanatorium Hospital.

“We can make as much money from tourism in this country as our exports and remittances, and we can repay our loans through tourism, but our tourism used to stop in Murree,” he said.

The prime minister said that there was such a large population but there was no hospital; there was a primary health centre in Nathiagali and there was only one doctor but there were a lot of tourists who come here and that was not enough. He emphasised that with the promotion of tourism, a revolution could be brought about in the national economy.

He noted that there was 370 kanals of land lying unutilised in the area. He congratulated anyone who had plans to build a hospital there. The prime minister acknowledged the fact that the greatest need of the people was that a government should take care of their health and provide education because education was the only way for a person to develop. Imran Khan said that Kohsar University is the future; a nation becomes great which thinks ahead and it cannot move forward without education.

“I have seen the whole of Pakistan and the world and I assure you that we do not know the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon our country and that is why we are ungrateful, and if we realise, we will be thankful all the time because Allah has not missed anything in Pakistan,” he said.

The prime minister said now Pakistan was about to change and all tourism areas would develop because tourism was doubling every year.

He said that Kohsar University would not only provide employment to the youth, but also enable them to build small guest houses for their tourism.