COLOMBO : A 11-member delegation of prominent Buddhist monks which visited Pakistan on a goodwill mission, returned to Colombo on Monday.
On arrival, they were received by Major General (R) Muhammad Saad Khattak, High Commissioner of Pakistan at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake on Monday. Deputy Chief of Mission, Tanvir Ahmad was also present at the event.
The tour was sponsored by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo in line with Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan’s vision to develop Buddhist religious tourism.
During their stay in Pakistan, the delegation held talks with Pakistan President, Dr,Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The delegation also visited the glorious heritage sites of Gandhara Civilization in Taxila, Swat and Takht-i-Bahi in Mardan and experienced various historical and archeological marvels in Lahore and Islamaba
.“Our plan is to build state-of-the-art logistical facilities along the trail to facilitate Buddhist pilgrims from across the world,” Premier Khan told the visiting delegation..
Speaking to the delegation, Imran Khan underscored the importance of enhancing people-to-people contacts and strengthening interfaith harmony. The prime minister welcomed the delegation.
Highlighting the glorious Gandhara heritage of Pakistan, the prime minister said 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 said that Pakistan is a land of unparalleled natural beauty and historical and cultural sites.
Welcoming the delegation, President Dr. Alvi said that Pakistan highly values its ties with Sri Lanka as both countries enjoyed excellent relations in various fields which are based on mutual respect and trust. He stated that Pakistan considered Sri Lanka as special partner and friend and wanted to further improve bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefits of the two friendly countries.
The President also said that Pakistan was home to the Gandhara Buddhist heritage and proud custodian of some of the most sacred relics of Buddha offering great potential for promoting religious tourism from Sri Lanka to Pakistan. He told the delegation to encourage the monks and people of Sri Lanka to visit the Buddhist religious sites in Pakistan as it had far greater number of Buddhist artefacts than any other country in the world. He added that people-to-people contacts and religious tourism provided excellent platforms to further expand bilateral cooperation.
The President expressed hope that the delegation would enlighten their followers about Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage and also encourage them to undertake religious tours to Pakistan.
The delegates deeply thanked the Government of Pakistan for making excellent arrangements to facilitate their visit to Buddhist sites. They also appreciated the measures taken by Pakistan for the renovation and preservation of Buddhist heritage sites.
