UK royals seeking ‘lasting friendship’ on historic tour
ISLAMABAD: British royal couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton, were expected to make their first visit to Pakistan on Monday.
The five-day visit, which will end on October 18, comes after more than a decade. The last British royals to visit the country were Prince Charles and Camilla, who visited in 2006.
During their time in Pakistan, William and Kate will visit Islamabad, Lahore, Gilgit-baltistan and rugged border regions to the west, an official handout from Kensington Palace said.
The visi t will s pan over 1,000km, covering Pakistan’s rich culture and its beautiful landscapes, the handout said. The visiting royals will also host a public reception in Lahore. In Gilgit-baltistan, they will visit schools and community centres run by the Ismaili community.
One of the focus areas of the visit is access to quality education, particularly for girls and young women. Taking to Twitter, British high commissioner in Pakistan, Thomas Drew, said it will be a “very exciting programme”.
“It will of course pay respect to the historical relationship between Britian and Pakistan. But it will focus largely on showcasing Pakistan as it is today: a dynamic, aspirational and forward looking nation,” he said.
He added that the royal couple was looking forward to meeting as many Pakistanis as possible and building a “lasting friendship with the people of Pakistan”.
Earlier, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said the visit would further improve ties between Pakistan and Britain.
PRIME MINISTER KHAN COMPLETES IRAN TOUR Pakistan PM Imran Khan completed his Iran tour on Sunday - the first leg of a trip that also includes a stop in Saudi Arabia.
Khan told reporters that the reason behind the trip was that “we do not want a conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran”. He said US President Donald Trump had approached him to “facilitate some sort of dialogue between Iran and the US”.
EARTHQUAKE JOLTS PARTS OF PAKISTAN
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted several cities on Monday morning. Tremors were felt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. Tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Chitral, Swat, Malakand, Kohat, Bannu, Buner and Dir.