MUZAFFARABAD,(Parliament Times) : An important meeting of the Azad Kashmir Cabinet Sub-Committee on Tourism Promotion Act has been convened. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, Chairman PTI, Most Senior Minister and Chairman Cabinet Sub-Committee. The meeting was attended by Local Government Minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, Communications Minister Azhar Sadiq, Forest Minister Akmal Sir Gala, SMBR Ihsan Khalid Kayani, Government Secretaries Mansoor Qadir Dar, Chaudhry Imtiaz, DG Noorazim Rashid Hanif and Additional Secretary Law Zahid Rajput. A detailed briefing was given to the Chairman Committee on the final draft of the amendment to the Tourism Act.
All members of the committee, after reviewing the draft, have reached a full consensus on it. The meeting also agreed to set up a tourism authority in Azad Kashmir to provide a conducive environment for tourists in the field of tourism. On the suggestion of the Most Senior Minister, it was decided to build restrooms at every 15 km distance on all major highways in collaboration with the Local Government Department, Highways Department and Tourism Department. The aim is to provide a dignified environment for travelers and tourists to book during the journey. Minister for Local Government Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, Minister for Communications Azhar Sadiq agreed with the proposal of the Most Senior Minister for Tourism and directed the Secretaries to take practical steps for the construction of rest rooms in the next two weeks On which the Most Senior Minister has thanked the two fellow Ministers. It was decided at the meeting that Azad Kashmir would be made a tourism free zone while a unanimous proposal for setting up a tourism authority would be tabled at the next cabinet meeting. Amendment to the Act will be a significant step towards building state-of-the-art projects in Azad Kashmir by adapting tourism to modern requirements. The proposed Tourism Policy Amendment Act 2021 will usher in a new era in the field of tourism. In order to give tourism industry status in Azad Kashmir, scope is being made in the tourism policy. To this end, legal barriers to tourism policy are being removed.
