Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that Pakistan is the most beautiful country in the world where there is a beautiful combination of civilisation, culture and geographical changes that attract the tourists from all over the world. He said that Pakistan was the Switzerland of Asia where there are vast deserts, forests, mountains, snow covered hills and historical buildings. He said that the land of Pakistan holds a significant importance for the people of other religions as the birthplace of the founder of Sikh religion, Baba Guru Nanak, and ancient monuments of Buddhists are present in the country.
He expressed these views while addressing the second session of a two-day workshop held in collaboration with Punjab Tourism and World Bank, here today.
The provincial minister said that attention needs to be paid to promote historic and cultural heritage of the country. He said that Panini compiled the first grammar book of the world in Taxila whereas the verses of Hazrat Baba Farid-ud-Din are also included in the Granth Sahib, holy book of the Sikh. Similarly, Taxila University was the source of interest for scholars of the subcontinent, he said.
Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman said that the government is effectively coping with the terrorism so that the nation could get rid of the menace. He said that besides administration, other institutions particularly people and the media will have to play their role in this regard so that the nation could defeat terrorism.He said that the government will benefit from the experiences and achievements of participants of the workshop for the promotion of tourism in Pakistan.
Rafique-uz-Zaman from Bangladesh, Sangi Tanzan from Bhutan, Sarab Jeet Singh from India, Abdul Sami-al-Hassan and Hawa Nadia from Maldives, Fezana Farooq Raza from Malaysia, Bharat Mani Sabidi from Nepal, Alraj Kerala from Sri Lanka, Fang Faan Marn Faan and Sameeta Cambot from Thailand, Ghazala Pervaiz from Britain, Georg Fibik from Germany, Kamran Akbar from World Bank, Ahmed Malik from Punjab Tourism and Secretary Tourism Humayun Mazhar Sheikh participated in the workshop.