Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Monday expressed his determination to take Khyber Pakhtunkhwa “from terrorism to tourism” as carrier South Air launched another route from Peshawar to Lahore.
He made the remarks while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of South Air’s flight route between Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport and Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, providing the public another domestic air option between the two cities.
The ceremony took place at the Peshawar airport, from where the inaugural flight — with Kundi on board — departed at 1:56pm.
Addressing the ceremony, Kundi announced that his administration “has begun working on T-to-T: from terrorism to tourism”.
KP has been under governor’s rule and emergency since Oct 11, when the federal government took the measures citing the PTI-led KP government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the counterterrorism fight.
“We have begun a journey to build an evolving, bright and strong Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Kundi said, adding that South Air would provide support in this objective.
“We will end terrorism and promote tourism,” Kundi affirmed, reiterating his pledge to eliminate terrorism in the province, which has been facing security challenges.
“This (T-to-T) can also mean from terrorism to trade; trade is very important,” he added.
The governor contended that the additional flight option will boost both trade and tourism as it reduces a 10-hour road trip to a one-hour journey.
“This is why we want connectivity in different cities, like Lahore, Quetta; in the future we will have connectivity with Chitral in the future as well,” Kundi said, adding that South Air had the KP government’s support.
The event was attended by South Air’s Chief Executive Officer Nishat Fatima, the joint secretary from the Ministry of Defence, KP MPAs, senior government and airport officials, and representatives of the business community.
“The commencement of the new service adds another air connectivity option to the domestic networks of PAA’s (Pakistan Airports Authority) airports, facilitating passengers travelling between Peshawar and Lahore,” read a handout by South Air.
It added that upon the plane’s landing in Lahore, Kundi was received by Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Provincial Minister for Specialised Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique and MPA Ramesh Kumar.
In a meeting on Sunday, Kundi and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Amjad Hussain had agreed to initiate negotiations to settle boundary disputes between the two regions and improve air connectivity.
The discussions focused on air links between Gilgit and Islamabad, where passengers have long faced difficulties because of limited flight operations and frequent cancellations.
During the meeting, representatives of South Air also held discussions with the GB chief minister regarding the introduction of additional air services.
In July, South Air launched services from Karachi to Quetta, via Turbat, and to Islamabad, via Bahawalpur, with inaugural flights departing from Jinnah International Airport.
Source: dawn
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