British royal couple William and Kate arrive in Pakistan for ‘complex’ visit amid tight security
- It is the first trip to Pakistan by members of the royal family since Prince Charles and his wife Camilla came in 2006
- Pakistan, which had witnessed several terror attacks, has deployed more than 1,000 commandos for the couple’s protection
The couple – the Duchess of Cambridge in a sea-green shalwar kameez, and the Duke in a dark suit – were greeted by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and presented with flowers after they landed in a British government plane at a military base in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjacent to the capital Islamabad, state television images showed.
A senior official at Pakistan’s Ministry of the Interior said more than 1,000 commandos would provide “round-the-clock security cover” for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, in addition to “thousands” of policemen and rangers who will also be on duty.
It is the first royal visit to Pakistan in more than a decade, after William’s father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited in 2006.
While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official Twitter account, Kensington Palace, released a short video on Sunday showing preparations for the trip, few specific details have been released due to security concerns.
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A statement from their communications secretary earlier this month said the couple, who are not bringing their three children with them, would visit the city of Lahore, the countryside in northern Pakistan and the rugged border regions to the west.
The programme will cover how communities in Pakistan are responding to the effects of climate change, feature programmes that empower young people and give quality education to girls and give them an understanding of the security challenges the country faces, the statement said.
“This is the most complex tour undertaken by the Duke and Duchess to date, given the logistical and security considerations,” the statement added.
According to local officials, the royal couple will attend an event at Pakistan’s first national art gallery, the National Council of Arts. The event will highlight the historical relationship between Britain and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the pair will travel to Lahore, the provincial capital city of Pakistan’s Punjab province, on a special plane.
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The duo will visit the lush green mountainous city of Chitral in Pakistan’s Gilgit Baltistan region on last leg of their trip on October 17.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, told the South China Morning Post on Sunday: “Pakistan is excited to welcome the royal couple. I’m also looking forward to meet the royals.”
Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, said the security situation in Pakistan had improved while Federal Minister for the Interior Brigadier Ijaz Shah added: “We have taken elaborate security measures. The royal couple and the British authorities must not be worried about their security and safety.”
