Paksitani tourist spots

Pakistani tourist spots you must visit 

Whenever we think of Pakistan, all that comes to our mind is terrorism, extremism, sectarianism, corruption, load shedding and inflation but despite all these issues, we immensely love our country.

Amidst all the chaos we have forgotten the beauty of our landscape.

Pakistan is full of breathtaking locations which will make you fall in love with this country all over again. If you are a tourist or love travelling then you must compile a list of places you plan to visit next year.

Dawn.com frequently publishes pictures of stunning tourist spots and historic places of Pakistan to highlight the positive image of the country and to generate awareness among the people.

Here are 16 destinations from our list which you must visit in 2016. Your experience would be, indeed, unforgettable:

1. Naltar valley

Naltar is famous for its colourful lakes, it is situated at a drive of 2.5 hours from Gilgit. World’s tastiest potatoes are cultivated here. Covered with pine trees, this valley doesn’t seem to be a part of this world.

If you really want to experience paradise in this world, you should visit Naltar at least once. This place will make you fall in love with it.

— S.M.Bukhari's Photography

— S.M.Bukhari's Photography

2. Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir

Opposite to the Keran sector of Indian-held Kashmir. From the Chella Bandi Bridge – just north of Azaad Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarabad – to Tau Butt, a valley stretches out for 240 kilometres; it is known as the Neelum Valley (literally, the Blue Gem Valley).

Neelum is one of the most beautiful valleys of Azaad Kashmir, and it hosts several brooks, freshwater streams, forests, lush green mountains, and a river. Here, you see cataracts falling down the mountains; their milky-white waters flowing over the roads and splashing against the rocks, before commingling with the muddy waters of River Neelum.

Pakistan's blue gem: Neelum Valley.

— S.M.Bukhari's Photography

— S.M.Bukhari's Photography

3. Shangrila resort, Skardu

In the extreme north of Pakistan, Skardu the central valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, is an epitome of beauty, serenity and wilderness.

After Jaglot on the Karakoram Highway, a narrow road turns towards Skardu. During the seven-hour journey, one is greeted with several streams, springs, and the hospitality of the local people.

After crossing the old wooden bridge built over the River Indus, one reaches Shangrila, a paradise on earth for tourists. It is a famous tourist spot in Skardu, which is about 25 minutes away by drive. Restaurant in Shangrila rest house is highlight of this place, which is built in the structure of an aircraft.

Skardu: An embodiment of nature's perfection

Some Haunted Places Of Pakistan

1. Mohatta Palace:

Mohatta was the summer house of a business man and is said to be haunted by his ghost since the British Raj era. Museum guides have reportedly seen various objects which have moved from their original place, or shifted about while guards have claimed to have “felt” the presence of certain spirits during the night.

2. Shamshan Ghaat

Shamshan Ghat or Crematory is in Hyderabad region of Pakistan; many claim that spirits who are dead but never reached their destination even after death. It is a place where Hindus’ burning and burial ritual are performed and this place is about 250 years old. If you really want to experience some creepiest paranormal activity, then this place is on the top of the list. As per the guard and other staff they have seen small children coming to play and make weird noises after sunset. He never saw anyone coming from the gate; the children just come from nowhere and disappear afterwards. That’s one creepiest thing!

3.Koh-I-Chiltan

The name of the mountain Chiltan or Chehel-Tan actually means ‘forty bodies’, it has been derived Persian/Balochi. According to a local myth and the legend associated with it, as being haunted by the spirits of forty babies.

4.Sheikhupura Fort

The queen used to reside there once. The fort is in bad shape as no one wants to help in reconstructing it because they believe that it is haunted by spirits of those queens.

Independence Day Of Pakistan

Independence of Pakistan

Main articles: Indian Independence Act 1947, Partition of India, and Independence Day of Pakistan

On 14 August 1947 (27th of Ramadan in 1366 of the Islamic Calendar) 

Pakistan gained independence. India gained independence 

the following day. Two of the provinces of British India, Punjab 

and Bengal, were divided along religious lines by the Radcliffe 

Commission. Lord Mountbatten is alleged to have influenced 

the Radcliffe Commission to draw the lines in India's favour. Punjab's

 mostly Muslim western part went to Pakistan and its mostly Sikh eastern part went to India, but there were significant 

Muslim minorities in Punjab's eastern section and light Hindus 

and Sikhs minorities living in Punjab's western areas.

There was no conception that population transfers would be 

necessary because of the partitioning. Religious minorities 

were expected to stay put in the states they found themselves 

residing in. However, an exception was made for Punjab which

 did not apply to other provinces. Intense communal rioting in 

the Punjab forced the governments of India and Pakistan to 

agree to a forced population exchange of Muslim and Hindu/Sikh

 minorities living in Punjab. After this population exchange only a f

ew thousand low-caste Hindus remained in Pakistani Punjab and only a tiny Muslim population remained in the town of 

Malerkotla in India's part of Punjab.Political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmed says that although Muslims started the violence in Punjab, by the end of 1947 more Muslims had been killed by Hindus and Sikhs in East Punjab than the number of Hindus and Sikhs who had been killed by Muslims in West Punjab. Nehru wrote to Gandhi on 22 August that up to then, twice as many Muslims had been killed in East Punjab than Hindus and Sikhs in West Punjab.

More than ten million people migrated across the 

new borders and between 200,000–2,000,000 people

 died in the spate of communal violence in the Punjab 

in what some scholars have described as a 'retributive 

genocide' between the religions.The Pakistani government 

claimed that 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped 

by Hindu and Sikh men and similarly the Indian government 

claimed that Muslims abducted and raped 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women. The two governments agreed to repatriate abducted women and thousands of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women were repatriated to their families in the 1950s. 

The dispute over Kashmir escalated into the first war between 

India and Pakistan. With the assistance of the United Nations 

(UN) the war was ended but it became the Kashmir dispute, 

unresolved as of 2018.