ISLAMABAD: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, arrived in Pakistan late Monday evening in an eagerly-awaited and historic visit.
The royal couple touched down at the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi cordially welcomed the royal couple on their maiden visit.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew, officials from the Foreign Office, and other top government officials were also present to receive them. Two children clad in traditional dress presented flower bouquets to the distinguished guests. The guests thanked them and talked to them for a while.
The royal couple are visiting on an official tour expected to repair Pakistan’s international image. The trip will be the first undertaken by any member of the British royal family to Pakistan in thirteen years since Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker visited in 2006.
They are expected to meet President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Tuesday. They will visit a local women’s college and participate in a charity event the same day.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to travel to Lahore on October 16 where they would tour SOS Children’s Village, Aitchison College, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Badshahi Mosque, Minar-e-Pakistan, and National Cricket Academy before leaving for Chitral.
Earlier, British High Commissioner in Pakistan Thomas Drew said the royal couple will pay a four-day official visit to Pakistan. He said they hoped to meet as many Pakistanis as possible during the visit particularly the youth who are shaping the future of the country.
Prince William’s grandmother, the ruling monarch Queen Elizabeth II, visited Pakistan in 1961 and again in 1997. The most memorable royal tours for Pakistan remain the visits by his mother, the late Princess Diana, in 1991, 1996 and 1997.
???????????????? Coming soon…#RoyalVisitPakistan @UKinPakistan pic.twitter.com/F7pKLrrFgY
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 13, 2019
