Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s statement that the announcement by the United Kingdom to revise its travel advisory and resumption of British Airways flights is testimony to the fact of significant improvement in Pakistan’s security situation aims at giving credit to the PTI government for this achievement.
He said Pakistan is emerging as a vital destination for tourism in the year 2020. He said the people from around the world are taking keen interest to visit Pakistan and witness its scenic beauty and added by saying that prospects of investment in the tourism industry have also increased, which will be helpful to deal with the issue of unemployment in the Country.
If the state of security has significantly improved in Pakistan as compared to the past one should praise the determination of security forces, especially the Pakistan Army. The military-led operations against militants have been instrumental in achieving this success and army jawans have given countless sacrifices to bring about improvement in the security situation in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s security and armed forces generally maintain control across the Country. Numerous military operations confronted the terrorists’ threat. Operations under Zarb-e-Azb and Raddul-Fasaad continued to grip the target. Pakistan Army rendered matchless sacrifices and conducted successful operations against terrorism.
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In September 2008, British Airways had suspended all its flights to Pakistan “for an indefinite period” citing security concerns in the aftermath of the Marriott Hotel bombing that claimed more than 50 lives and injured more than 250 people.
Former Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asif Ghafoor said the “dividends of the decades-long struggle of Pakistani nation and its security forces for the restoration of peace and stability in the country are on the way”.
In a video message on Twitter, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew welcomed British Airways launching London-Islamabad direct flights. The British envoy added that the “return of British Airways will give a particular boost to trade and investment links between UK and Pakistan.”
Robert Williams, the British Airways head of sales for Asia Pacific and the Middle East says: “All of us at British Airways could not be more pleased to be coming back to Pakistan and we very much look forward to June next year when our first flight will touch down at your spectacular new airport.”
The resumption of BA flights to Pakistan indicates improvement in our law and order situation. This decision is an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s continued efforts for peace and elimination of terrorism. Other countries are also revisiting their travel advisory like the UK for Pakistan. Soon other western airlines like the KLM, Air France, Lufthansa and Pan Am, SAS, and AIR ITALIA will also resume their flights to Pakistan, as they once had.
British Airways is the first major European airline to resume direct flights to Pakistan since services were suspended. In the interim, Gulf-based airlines – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways – stepped in to absorb the bulk of the country’s international air traffic.
Pakistan has been battling the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organization of armed groups. Since 2014, a series of military operations has seriously degraded the Tehreek-e-Taliban’s ability to launch frequent attacks targeting civilians and security forces, with violence dropping significantly as the group was displaced from its erstwhile headquarters in the northwest of the country.
Pakistan Army has rendered matchless sacrifices to eradicate terrorism from the country and conducted successful operations against terrorists and forced them to flee from the homeland. The militants faced total defeat in Pakistan.
Sacrificing life for the defense of the motherland is the highest sacrifice that one can make. Remembering the Country’s true heroes is a source of motivation for both forces and the nation.
We can never thank enough families of our shuhada for their great sacrifice. We must stay connected with them and we are lifetime responsible for their well-being.
It is highly appreciable that the International community is gradually endorsing improvement in Pakistan’s security situation. The whole world is witnessing that Pakistan is heading towards the right direction in terms of economic and security stability.
Enemies of Pakistan are envious of Pakistan’s rising position at the international front. The whole credit goes to the endeavors made by Pak Army. Hats off to the valiant soldiers