Pakistan is now working towards building relations and strengthening ties with various countries and nations.

Doing the same with Sri Lankans, Pakistan hosted the first ever Vesak Festival in Taxila earlier this month. Vesak Festival, also known as the Buddha’s Day is a holiday observed traditionally by the Buddhists all over the world, in India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and many more.

The tradition emerged to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and the death of the Buddha Gautama. Pakistan despite being a predominantly a Muslim country decided to host the event in Taxila-a district in Rawalpindi and Sri Lanka was the only country invited to attend the festival. This is now a historical landmark which will be celebrated each year. During the festivals, those observing the religion gather at the temples and sing hymns of praises and the teachings of the Buddha.

Taxila is the most important Buddhist sites in Pakistan housing about 50 archeological remains from the 2nd century BC to 6th century AD. In Pakistan, the Sri Lankan delegation visited the various Buddha Stupas in Taxila such as the Dharmarajika Stupa, Julian site, Mohra Muradu Stupa, Jandial Temple, Sirsukh Site besides the visit of Taxila Museum.

The main aim apart from celebrating the festival is to spread happiness among people. This is done by distributing cash and various other things to the poor and the handicapped in order to make them happy and feel like they belong.

Upon returning to their country, the religious scholars during the interview said that despite being a Muslim country Pakistan had done a lot for preservation and restoration of centuries-old Buddhist heritage sites.

Aside from this, the delegation expressed their gratitude over the entire visit and thanked the Government of Pakistan for arranging the first-ever Vesak Festival with a warm welcome and hospitality during the entire visit.

Such steps, take by the government of Pakistan, will not only open avenues for tourism but also attract people from all over the world to visit the country during their religious seasons- such as the Sikhs and now the Buddhists.

We believe such events will improve Pakistan’s image at the international level and positively impact Pakistan’s travel and tourism industry.

Limiting not only to this but an experience shared by people such as Sophee Smiles (Australian travel blogger), Vasant Dave (Indian novelist) and Devika Mittal (Indian Ph.D. candidate) are also expected to create a better image of Pakistan