LASBELA: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for the development of beach and coastline tourism in Balochistan by properly exploring the unseen potential of different areas “which could lead to generation of huge revenues”.
The premier expressed his views while addressing a gathering of local people at Sonmiani beach in Balochistan’s Lasbela district after tree plantation drive and inspection of mangrove forest.
The prime minister the government should concentrate upon those tourism spots which could attract tourists from Muslim countries because they were wary of visiting Europe and other places due to concerns related to Islamophobia.
PM Imran said the government’s efforts should be geared towards improving the lives of the people, to ensure livelihoods for them, education for their children, and health facilities. “It is the foremost responsibility of the government to see how we can make the people’s lives better,” he added.
He further said that the government planned to develop beach tourism and would seek scientific suggestions from quality consultants. The premier said the hilly or mountainous areas were developed by the British during their rule, but these areas were being degraded slowly.
“For the first time, the government was developing new hilly terrains and exploring other scenic spots to attract maximum tourists”, he added.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the country’s coastline remained unexplored and also emphasized upon reservation and increase of mangrove forests as they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen in abundance.
He said he was mesmerized by the beauty of the area. “Allah Almighty had blessed the country with precious resources”, he said regretting that in the past, the people did not do justice with these natural gifts.
The prime minister said the world was experiencing severe climatic impacts in forms of flooding and forest fires. “Pakistan had already been taking lead in the global efforts to reverse climatic change impacts,” he highlighted.
The prime minister noted that Balochistan province lacked behind in terms of progress and development due to lack of interest by the former federal governments. “The previous rulers preferred to reside in London without taking pains to visit these neglected areas”, he added.
The prime minister said for the first time in the country’s history, the federal government was spending a huge amount of Rs1000 billion for the development of Balochistan. “Such an amount was never allocated or spent in the province”, he claimed.
He expressed the resolve that government would provide all the basic facilities to the residence of the province, noting that the province was rich with massive mineral resources and if proper planning was done, it would result in huge revenues for the province.
