The royal couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton have resurrected the beautiful memories of Lady Diana’s visit to Pakistan in 1996. The royal couple arrived in Pakistan on Monday and became the headlines for all the news channels in the country. The duke and duchess of Cambridge concluded their 5-day visit to Pakistan on Friday.
The couple arrived in their RAF’s Voyager A330 aircraft from Brize Norton, a red carpet was rolled out for the royals at the Nur Khan Air Base as Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warmly welcomed them. Bouquets were presented to the Duke and the Duchess by two kids dressing Pakistani traditional attire. The Duchess shook hands with the little girl and thanked her for the lovely flowers.
Earlier in the day, the plane taking the British royal couple had safely landed in Islamabad; hours after two failed landing attempts in severe weather compelled them to fly back to Lahore.
The duke and duchess of Cambridge ended up staying the night at a hotel in Lahore before finally flying back to Islamabad on Friday morning.
There has been no statement yet from Kensington Palace on Thursday’s mid-air drama, which reportedly saw the Royal Air Force pilot circle for at least an hour during a severe thunderstorm that hit Islamabad, before eventually leaving the attempt and returning to Lahore.
Royal Couple Visit Pakistan
The duke and duchess arrived in Islamabad for their first visit to Pakistan on Monday night. Their second day was a busy one that started with a visit to a girl’s college in the capital and then Margalla Hills, where they attended a ceremony concerning environmental protection. The couple was hosted by President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Aiwan-i-Sadr and Prime Minister House, respectively.
In the evening, they visited a magnificent reception, hosted by British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew, at the National Monument where William, in his first official speech, paid tribute to all the people who “endured sacrifice and helped build Pakistan to the country it is today”.
On the third day of their tour, the royals gave a visit to the Chitral district to see the impact of climate change in the region.
During the visit, the couple traveled to the Baroghil Valley National Park in the far north and the Bumburate Valley in the south where they mixed with the Kalasha community.
On arriving at the Bumburate Valley, the couple was welcomed with a red-carpet reception by the Kalasha community, led by MPA Wazir Zada from where they drove to several sites destroyed by flash floods in 2015. The royal couple was informed about the causes of natural disasters in the region.
On Thursday, they arrived in Lahore where they were embraced by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Governor Chaudhry Sarwar.
They later attended the SOS Children’s Village, where they took part in a storytelling session and mixed with the staff and kids. Kate also gave a short speech at a birthday party held for three children at the center and wished the kids ‘happy birthday’ in Urdu.
Afterward, the duke and duchess moved to the National Cricket Academy where both of them tried their skills at cricket.
William and Kate also visited the iconic Badshahi Mosque and later joined a conference on interfaith harmony with religious guides. The royal couple then toured the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, where they were greeted by the hospital’s CEO Dr. Faisal Sultan and other senior executives.
At the hospital, they met kids suffering from cancer and also attended the department hosting the hospital’s radiation machine.
Before departing, the royal couple visited the Army Canine Centre in Islamabad, where Britain assists with a program that trains dogs to recognize explosive devices.
At the department, Prince William while speaking to reporters highlighted the significance of his country’s security ties with Pakistan.
He was quoted as saying: “The whole week we have been hearing about security in Pakistan and it’s brought home to Catherine and I the importance of the relationship between the UK and Pakistan.”
Duchess of Cambridge told CNN in one of her interviews that the couple’s visit to Pakistan had been “fantastic”.
Speaking to the broadcaster while visiting the SOS Children’s Village in Lahore on Thursday, Kate said the five-day official trip had enabled them to see a lot of the country.
“It was amazing seeing some of the geographies yesterday, but then to see some of the community activities today has been really special,” the duchess said, with Prince William standing by her side.
