Vacationing in desert resort: PM takes time out from tiring routine
His itinerary includes a hunt, an open-air dinner and local music.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has headed to an old favoured haunt, the Whispering Hills Rest House in Bahawalpur, seeking a break from the business of state.
A close aide told The Express Tribune that the premier has been visiting the rest house since the 1980s, first vacationing there when he was sports advisor the then Punjab governor, Mian Ghulam Jilani. His itinerary includes a hunt in the Cholistan desert and an open-air dinner, accompanied by local music.
On Wednesday afternoon, the prime minister and a tight-knit circle of friends and party office-bearers lunched at the resort. Established in 1989, Whispering Hills is located in Lal Suhanra National Park, one of the largest in Pakistan.
The resort, built by Nawaz, was initially private but later opened to the public. Its grounds include an artificial lake, a boating facility and lush trees. An aide to the prime minister said he preferred vacationing here instead of travelling outside Pakistan.
During his visit, Nawaz is joined by friends and local politicians as well as princes from Gulf states camped in the desert during hunts. Hunts include the nilgai, deer, urial, chinkara and blackbuck.
District police officers of Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan, and Rangers are providing security for the three days. PML-N’s Parliamentary Secretary on Information Rana Muhammad Arshad said Nawaz will meet representatives of South Punjab during the trip before returning on Friday.
Earlier Sharif spent the day in Bahawalpur seeing various development projects, including the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, the coal-based power plant at Rahim Yar Khan and the Nuclear Power Plant at Ahmedpur Shirqia.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2014.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has headed to an old favoured haunt, the Whispering Hills Rest House in Bahawalpur, seeking a break from the business of state.
A close aide told The Express Tribune that the premier has been visiting the rest house since the 1980s, first vacationing there when he was sports advisor the then Punjab governor, Mian Ghulam Jilani. His itinerary includes a hunt in the Cholistan desert and an open-air dinner, accompanied by local music.
On Wednesday afternoon, the prime minister and a tight-knit circle of friends and party office-bearers lunched at the resort. Established in 1989, Whispering Hills is located in Lal Suhanra National Park, one of the largest in Pakistan.
The resort, built by Nawaz, was initially private but later opened to the public. Its grounds include an artificial lake, a boating facility and lush trees. An aide to the prime minister said he preferred vacationing here instead of travelling outside Pakistan.
During his visit, Nawaz is joined by friends and local politicians as well as princes from Gulf states camped in the desert during hunts. Hunts include the nilgai, deer, urial, chinkara and blackbuck.
District police officers of Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan, and Rangers are providing security for the three days. PML-N’s Parliamentary Secretary on Information Rana Muhammad Arshad said Nawaz will meet representatives of South Punjab during the trip before returning on Friday.
Earlier Sharif spent the day in Bahawalpur seeing various development projects, including the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, the coal-based power plant at Rahim Yar Khan and the Nuclear Power Plant at Ahmedpur Shirqia.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 6th, 2014.