Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, arrived in Pakistan on her first official solo tour on September 23, 1991.
During the course of her visit, she met and dined with then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who had hosted a banquet in her honour at Prime Minister House. Her engagements included a visit to a family welfare centre in the Noorpurshahan village adjacent to Islamabad, and a trip to the All Pakistan Women Association (APWA) complex. She also met 49 young scholars who had studied in Britain on scholarships funded by both British and Pakistan governments at a simple function held at Daman-i-Koh. The Princess called on the then president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, with whom she discussed matters of mutual interest. Later, he along with his wife hosted a dinner in her honour at the Aiwan-i-Sadar.
In a busy six-hour visit to Lahore, she visited the Kinnaird College straight from the airport, followed by a visit to the century-old King Edward Medical College. She also visited the Millat Tractor Factory, where she inaugurated a new assembly plant, the mazar of Allama Iqbal, Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort.
Her next stop was Chitral where she saw a programme of traditional folk dances, including the famous Kafir Kalash. She attended a reception hosted in her honour by the chief minister. She also visited the Khyber Pass and interacted with members of the Khyber Rifles and the Chitral Scouts. She paid a visit to the Chitral Fort, where she met the former Mehtar (ruler), Prince Saiful Mulk Nasir, before returning to Islamabad.
The princess’s subsequent visit was from February 20-22, 1996, undertaken on Imran Khan’s invitation to help raise funds for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. Diana was accompanied by Lady Annabel Goldsmith, the mother of Khan’s wife at the time, Jemima Khan, and Jemima’s cousin Cosima Somerset. She flew into Islamabad on the eve of February 20 aboard a private plane. She was received at the airport by Khan and Jemima.
That evening she had dinner at a restaurant in Lahore’s Gulberg area with Khan’s family and close friends. The next day, Diana visited the hospital to oversee its facilities and engage with the doctors and patients there. She also attended an Eid Milan party at the hospital. She then visited a new departmental store in Lahore’s Gulberg area, before attending a fundraising dinner. The event was reported to have secured a hefty sum of Rs2.5 million.
According to Kensington Palace, her official residence, the visit was part of her continuing interest and concern for the sick and those neglected by society. She remained a guest of Imran Khan’s during her stay. Owing to the personal nature of her visit, she did not attend any official function. She was, however, provided security by the government.
Lady Diana arrived in Pakistan on her third visit in May 1997 with the aim of launching an endowment fund appeal for Imran Khan’s cancer hospital and research centre. She landed in Lahore on the morning of May 22, having travelled with Khan’s wife Jemima and their son Suleman Isa Khan. They were greeted at the airport by then Punjab education minister Chaudhry Mohammad Iqbal and Khan.
She was driven to Khan’s Zaman Park residence, where she stayed throughout her visit. That afternoon, a lunch was hosted by the hospital management where some 55 senior doctors and officials were in attendance. The appeal was launched at a ceremony the next evening presided over by the chief minister of Punjab at the time, Shahbaz Sharif. The event was followed by a fundraising dinner. Diana left for London the day after, in what marked her final and briefest visit to Pakistan. She died in a car crash in Paris just three months later.
