ISLAMABAD: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Middleton departed for United Kingdom on Friday after completing a four-day tour of Pakistan.
On the last day of the tour, the royal couple visited an army canine school in Islamabad as their last engagement of the tour. A planned trip to the Pakistan military post was called off after the flight drama.
The Duchess of Cambridge fed and petted trainee bomb sniffer dogs today as she and Prince William visited the Islamabad Army Canine Centre before boarding a plane back home at the end of their historic tour of Pakistan.
William and Kate were accompanied by Golden Labrador puppies as they walked around the facility, where British servicemen help their Pakistani counterparts train the animals to fight terrorism.
At the Army Canine Centre in Islamabad, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined dog handlers as they train dogs to recognise and scout out hidden explosive materials, before taking some of the puppies through their paces on an agility training course #RoyalVisitPakistan pic.twitter.com/EwmeCGbVmK
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 18, 2019
The royals spent a busy Thursday in Lahore, during which they played cricket, visited SOS Village, a children’s orphanage, visited Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and toured the iconic Badshahi Mosque, one of the world’s largest mosque.
In the evening, the RAF Voyager carrying the royals aborted landings in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi due to severe turbulence and returned to Lahore. They touched down in Pakistan’s capital at around midday hours later than expected
Speaking at the centre, Kate admitted she had endured a bumpy ride when the flight but said she had enjoyed the ‘adventure’.
“I think it was quite an adventure really, it was pretty bumpy up there. But we were looked after so wonderfully by the RAF who did a great job liaising with everyone and got us home safely, so we are hugely grateful to them,” she said.
William also spoke of how important security ties with Pakistan were for the UK and said events in Pakistan had a direct effect on security on the streets of Britain.
‘The whole week we have been hearing about security in Pakistan and it’s really brought home to Catherine and I the importance of the relationship between the UK and Pakistan,’ he said. ‘We are involved with the Pakistanis for a very good reason, it will actually keep people safe back in the UK.’
Later the couple were seen waving from the steps of their RAF Voyager plane as they prepared to return to Britain.
