Short while ago, there was a remarkable symposium, “From Gandhara to the World”, organized by Imran Siddiqui, AS-EAP at MOFA. One hopes that the FM will make this a yearly event as a part of the job description for the AS position so that a system, not personal initiative drives it forward, but I digress from the subject. This symposium brought together many international delegates who were invited to attend, present, and discuss the way forward. I was asked to present a roadmap to promote pilgrimages to Gandhara; upon implementation, it would create a mega-sector worth USD 20-30 billion per year and entice 5 million Buddhist pilgrims to visit Pakistan, albeit over ten years. To create this mega-sector, many steps will need to be taken which will be the subject of other articles, however, a crucial step is for Pakistan’s government to put together systems to manage the visitors, not operate under localized bureaucratic fiefdoms. Following is a case in point.

A few days prior to the MOFA event, an esteemed Japanese monk reached out and asked “Son, I have been on a pilgrimage of Gandhara and have heard about this event. Can I please attend?” The MOFA host agreed and an invitation was extended. It turned out that the monk was then in Swat, having visited sites in GB and Hunza. It........

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