Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that his government was currently working on creating a Holy Buddhist Trail, which will include the most revered Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan. The Prime Minister was talking to an 11-member delegation of prominent Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, which called on him on the invitation of government of Pakistan. While referring to the Gandhara heritage of the country, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan was a proud custodian of some of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world and offered a great religious tourism opportunity for tourists from across the world, especially Sri Lanka. He informed the delegation that his government is building a state-of-the-art logistical facility along the trail to facilitate Buddhist pilgrims. Pakistan is home to richest Buddhist heritage of Gandhara civilization date back to first century B.C.E. through fifth century C.E. The Buddhist heritage are spread over several areas of the country ranging from Swat valley, Takht-e-Bahi, Peshawar and Hari Pur. The Country recently unveiled another site of Buddhist heritage in District Haripur, KPK. According to experts, these are 1700 years old Buddhist remains including 48 feet long sleeping Buddha image related to the ancient Bhamala Province under the Mauryan empire of King Ashoka some 2300 years ago. Besides, Buddhism Pakistan also have several important heritage sites of Hindu and Sikhs religions. There are several sacred Sikhs religious sites including Nankana Sahib (the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak), Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartar Pur, Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hassan Abdal, Gurdwara Dera Sahib and Samadhi Ranjit Singh (Lahore) etc. All these sites have great importance in Sikh religion and a source of attraction for the Sikh yatrees and other tourists across the world. Similarly, there are numerous Hindu religious sites across the country including holy Hindu Shrines Shree Katas Raj Temples, also known as Qila Katas in Chakwal district, Punjab, Shiv Avtari Satguru Sant Shadaram Sahib, at Sukkur, Sindh, Hinglai Mata Temple (Balochistan), Shri Ramdev Pir Temple (Sindh), Umarkot Shev Mandir and Churrio Jabal Durga Mata temple (Sindh). Fortunately, Pakistan has unlimited prospects for religious tourism in the country. However, there is need for infrastructure development, provision of essential facilities and tourism friendly environment in the country. Pakistan also needs to relax its visa regime to attract tourists arcoss the globe.
