Pakistan's Ambassador to the UAE Faisal Niaz Tirmizi during the cake-cutting ceremony in Sharjah.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UAE Faisal Niaz Tirmizi has said that the launch of the inaugural flight between Dubai and Skardu by Pakistani International Airlines (PIA) will be a major boost for tourism in the country.

In the last couple of months, we witnessed a large number of UAE-based Philippine nationals and Sri Lankans travelling to Pakistan to visit tourist spots in the country, which is again good news for Pakistan’s tourism sector, he said.

He was speaking to the media after cutting a cake decorated with the colours of the national flag to celebrate the country’s 76th Independence Day at Al Nawab Restaurant in Sharjah. The evening was attended by a large number of prominent community members besides mediapersons.

“Since I assumed the office as Ambassador to the UAE, I have been stressing on highlighting Pakistan’s two major sectors, tourism and IT (information technology), as both have huge potential and there is  a dire need to promote these to bring more foreign exchange to the country. It is a huge decision of the government of Pakistan to start international flights to address tourism issues in Northern Areas of Pakistan which is full of attractions for all kinds of tourists. The inauguration of the direct flight between Dubai to Skardu – the snow-packed mountain range in Northern Areas of Pakistan – by national carrier PIA is great news. We are hoping to see more expansion of such initiatives by the government to promote tourism in other parts of the country,” he said.

The ambassador also congratulated the fellow community members on the country’s 76th Independence Day and said, “Through this first event being held in Sharjah for the country’s 76th Independence Day celebrations, I urge all community members in the UAE to make sure to attend the official ceremonies at the Pakistan Embassy in Islamabad and Consulate General in Dubai and show their patriotism.”