STORIES RELATED TO NATURAL BEAUTY OF PAKISTAN

You may have heard some remarkable stories about Pakistan as a tourism hub from your parents and grandparents. The 60s and 70s, in particular, were the decades when tourism in Pakistan saw its prime. The pictures of those days can still be found doing rounds on the internet, boasting a plethora of visitors from all around. Those were the days when Pakistan would invariably feature in the lists of international tourist destinations. In 2009, the World Economic Forums travel and tourism competitiveness report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25 per cent tourist destinations for its world heritage sites. Pakistans rich heritage is one that outdoes many countries of the world. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has enlisted six Pakistani sites as world heritage sites. These include the magnificent Shalimar Gardens. the fort in Lahore, the Makli monuments in Sindh, the ruins of Moenjodaro also in Sindh, Rohtas Fort near Jhelum, Buddhist ruins in Takht-i-Bahi and the ancient city of Taxila. 18 other sites, including the Baltit fort in Hunza and the tomb of Shah Rukne Alam in Multan, have been classified as tentative sites by the same.

Monuments and structures, dating back to 3300 BC can be found, and impressions from varied dynasties and time periods hold testimony to the rich historical back-drop of Pakistan. Its not just heritage. Geographically, the country is as rich as it gets. From the snow-capped mountains of the north to the deserts of Thar; from the plains of Punjab to the plateau of Potohar; from the Salt range to the coast

of Makran; the country comes solid on the scale of geographical diversity. Lush green fields, healthy hill stations, azure skies and clear rivers

Despite the excess of offerings that Pakistan can make to its tourists, Pakistan has fallen behind neighbouring India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan when it comes to tourism, and thats where the bad news begins. Given the political instability of the country, which can be dated back to about forever, it comes off as no surprise that many international travel agencies warn their clients not to visit Pakistan. Let international tourism be; even domestic tourism has been affected unfavourably by the waves of terrorism and lack of law and order in the country. Tourism, like every industry, needs its due investment before its profitable. While theres no input, sadly, its only just that tourism is neither alive nor kicking in the country. But then, on a positive and honest note, theres one entity in Pakistan that pretty much makes up (or at least tries to) for all these fallacies, and its the people of the country! Therefore, the next time youre on a break from work and wish to see all things beautiful and exciting, pack your bags and come to Pakistan. It might not be a bed of roses, but you wont be disappointed. No surprises there. Accordingly, the same World Economic Forum that was all praise for our heritage in 2009, has ranked Pakistan at 122 out of 140 countries in its latest travel and tourism competitiveness report. A sorry state of policy rules and regulations has been cited by the report as the most probable hindrances to a blooming tourism industry in the country, followed by poor prioritising of travel and tourism. Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, all have fared better than Pakistan.

It is not far from the truth though. The poor state of leisure tourism in Pakistan emanates basically from the sheer absence of any tourism facilities. A single look on the Pakistan governments tourism website can give you a pretty clear idea of that. Pakistan as a tourist destination in international media is another sorry tale. The basic services to those who visit the country are at a bare minimum. Mo Advertisements and propagation of reover, many of the tourist spots are consistently facing gross negligence and nobody seems to be bothered. Pakistan A Heaven On Earth, Pakistan is blessed by natural beauty there are hundred of places to visit. World second largest Mountain K-2 is located in Pakistan. Pakistan has its own tourism attraction because of its diverse cultures, peoples and landscapes. The variety of attractions ranges from the ruins of ancient civilisations such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill-stations, that attract those interested in field and winter sports. Pakistan also has five out of fourteen mountain peaks of height over 8,000 metres (26,250 ft), that attract adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially to K2. From April to September, domestic and international visitors to these areas bring tourist income to the local people I grew up listening to my grandmothers stories of how Pakistan was formed and how they came here, smiled Asma Sikandar Khan as she spoke about her first book for children, A Magical Tale About Pakistan. I have tried to preserve those tales and pass them on to the younger generation. Khan, a software engineer who became a teacher of technology at the Haque Academy, came up with the idea when she couldnt find a book for her own two girls. Our children should be introduced to Quaid-e-Azam and the Partition in a magical way, she decided. I hope my book induces patriotism in kids. At the informal book launch at the Warehouse held on Saturday, Asma said that one of the motivations behind the book was her

own grandmothers narratives. She wanted to pass down her messages from the first generation to the fourth one. In the book, the character Nana is a wizard and Nani is the grandmother who takes all the children eight-year-old Fatima, and twins Aisha and Hamza on a magical adventure back to 1947. Here, they see men guarding and protecting houses, and people getting on the train to go to Pakistan. Along the trip, the children also meet Quaid-e-Azam, feeling excited as they scream Pakistan Zindabad when he announces the creation of the new country. With a magical door transporting the children and the grandmother using magic tricks to convert pencils into food, the book delivers its promise of magic. The writer whose grandparents moved from Khurja, a small town near Delhi, to Pakistan, felt that parents nowadays need to work hard on their kids who ask why they should live here. I keep on telling my children that this is their country and that Pakistan will be always their land, she said. If they go away, who will take care of the homeland? Khan tried to give the same message through her book when Nani takes all the children back in time in a bid to make them realise about the sacrifices their ancestors made and what freedom means to them.