Rawalpindi-Pakistan is blessed with sacred assets of major religions of the world and by promoting and facilitating religious tourism; foreign tourist influx could be increased in the country, Special Advisor to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari said while addressing participants of Vesak Festival at Taxila on Monday.
The Vesak Day Ceremony was organised by Centre for Culture and Development in collaboration with Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) at Dharmarajika Stupa at Taxila.
Bukhari said that remains of Gandhara Civilization in Taxila and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were the most sacred for the Buddhist community. However, these have not been properly taken care of; developed and projected internationally to attract religious tourists, he said. He said that Prime Minister’s vision was to promote tolerance, bring inter-faith harmony and facilitate followers of all religions to practice their rituals with comfort.
Opening Kartarpur corridor is a positive step toward facilitating Sikh community, he said, adding that the Present government led by PM Imran Khan had a special focus on developing Pakistan’s tourism and every effort would be made to tap the religious tourism potential.
Managing Director PTDC Syed Intikhab Alam said that the PTDC would facilitate the tourists to visit the sacred places and would work with provincial governments to upgrade the facilities. He said that PTDC would soon launch a publicity campaign to promote and develop religious tourism to contribute towards economic development through generation of income, employment and foreign exchange.
Chief Buddhist Monk of Singapore Rev Dato Dr Sumana Siri paid homage at the shrine of Dharmarajika Stupa, Taxila, along with ambassador of Sri Lanka. People of various faiths, including Buddhist, Christian and fasting Muslims participated in the ceremony to show solidarity with Buddhist friends.