Gandhara can bring back tourists to Pakistan

TAXILA, March 31: Thai Ambassador Marut Jitpatima on Thursday said Pakistan could bring tourism back on track through promotion of Gandhara heritage in Buddhist countries. He was talking to newsmen after inaugurating "Thai shines Gandhara heritage" project at TaxilaMuseum. The project, launched by Thai Airways in collaboration with Federal department of archaeology and museums, was aimed at providing different facilities to tourists at museum and different sites. To provide information about the archaeological sites, the project included installation of signboards in six different languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, English and Urdu. "Pakistan can be a great Buddhist pilgrimage destination in the world," the ambassador said adding Pakistan has rich Buddhist treasure and it could attract tourists from Buddhist countries through holding of seminars and exhibition in these countries. He said Pakistan was the land from where the great Gandhara culture was flourished across the world. Responding to a question, he said that Thailandwas ready to cooperate with Pakistanin preservation and excavation of Gandhara sites. He in this regard offered technical assistance, exchange of scholars and experts. Responding to another question, he appreciated the efforts of Pakistanpreserving Buddhist places of religious worship. He said that he was impressed by the archaeological treasures, well preserved sites and excellent preservation of the Buddhist artifacts but "we people at Thailandknow about Pakistanhaving rich Buddhist culture. He said that Thailandorganize different cultural events to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Thai Airways country chief Polapat Neelabhamoran also addressed the inaugurating ceremony of the project .