Pakistan
Irfan Husain
Can our tourism minister possibly be “for real?” asked Irfan Husain in the Islamabad Daily Times. Last week, Shaukat Aziz proclaimed that next year would be “Visit Pakistan Year.” It’s hard to imagine just how he will persuade foreigners to come here. The only tourists we seem to attract are Islamic extremists. They adore Pakistan for its more unorthodox delights—the fanatical madrasas, the lawless tribal regions, the hideouts for Taliban members. Look at Osama bin Laden: He loves it here “so much, he refuses to go back” home. The drawback to our success in this niche market is that “the religious tourists tend to stay in camps where they are indoctrinated and taught how to make and plant explosives. They thus tend not to be big spenders.” If the government really wants to draw regular tourists, as opposed to jihadists, it will have to make the country safe. “One thing people do not wish to do while holidaying abroad is wonder nervously if the next ‘beardo’ is going to ram his explosives-filled car into their air-conditioned tourist bus.”
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