Multan, Pakistan could be a tourist’s delight

Pakistan could be a tourist’s delight

March 9, 2013

A beautiful view of lake Saiful Malook -- a popular tourist destination in Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP

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. I haven’t seen that Pakistan, but I can well imagine it, owing to the accounts I’ve had from many people around. Therefore, when I came across this article titled, ‘Pakistan tourism: a sleeping giant?’ in an Australian magazine, shedding light on the aspects of Pakistan as a treat for tourists, I couldn’t help add my own two cents to the topic.
The article starts off with an oft-repeated, almost clichéd line:

“It’s a part of the world that usually makes headlines for all the wrong reasons…”

Then the article goes on to indulge in the possibilities that can be drawn from Pakistan’s tourism, narrating its beauty and destinations, and no one can disagree.
In 2009, the World Economic Forum’s travel and tourism competitiveness report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25 per cent tourist destinations for its world heritage sites. Pakistan’s 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 Humza and the tomb of Shah Rukne Alam in Multan, have been classified as ‘tentative sites’ by the same.

Shah Rukne Alam in Multan