Pakistan to introduce visa-free policy for 55 countries to promote tourism

In order to promote tourism in the country, Pakistan government might soon remove visa restrictions for tourists from 55 nations. Reportedly, the arrival of foreign tourists in Pakistan has suffered a setback after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA. However, Information Minister of Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhry, told the press recently that the government is reconsidering its visa rules in order to make 55 countries free from the necessity of obtaining a visa, including a lot of European nations.
Lately, the government of Portugal announced Pakistan as a safe country for travel. Even France has removed its reservations on travelling to Pakistan.
On the other hand, the British Airways recently declared that it would re-start flight operations to Pakistan in 2019 after taking a decade-long break post a hotel bombing incident. According to the news reports, BA will be the first western airline to resume its operations in Pakistan. Reportedly, besides the recurring terrorist attacks, the time-taking visa process was also a factor that affected inbound tourism in Pakistan. Also, since Pakistan had a reputation of being a country with security problems and strict societal laws, foreign tourists feared exploring the country. However, due to the improvement in security measures employed by the Pakistan government, terrorist attacks have become lesser now.