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Herat’s historical sites attract over 4,000 tourists in past three months
Local officials in Herat say that in the last three months, more than 4,000 tourists have visited historical sites and places of interest in the province.
According to officials, during this period, almost two hundred foreign tourists have visited Herat – mostly from Europe, America and from Asia.
The most recent was a group of 14 people from Europe. They said they were excited to visit Afghanistan and hoped to see other provinces. They said Herat’s historical sites were of particular interest.
“Afghanistan is really a wonderful country, I really like the people of this country and each of them is very kind, we see excitement on the roads and life is going on. We have already visited Bamiyan, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul,” said Andrea, a Serbian.
“I have heard many things about Afghanistan, especially about the nature, culture and people of this country, but I search a lot to know more about Afghanistan, here in Herat I have the Grand Mosque, I saw this historical castle and the traditional tile making industry and I am very excited to see the remaining parts of this city as well,” said Yavana, another Serbian.
Local officials say tourism is on the rise in the country, by both domestic and foreign tourists.
“Over the last three months, there have been 4,102 tourists, including domestic and foreign tourists, of which 159 were foreign tourists who came from different countries to Herat,” said Rahmatullah Mohammadi, head of tourism in Herat.
The Citadel of Herat or Qal’a-ye Ikhtiyar al-Din, Herat’s Grand Mosque, traditional tile making industry and dozens of other places of interest are the main attractions in Herat.
“We are fortunate that we had tourists from neighboring countries and Europe, Asia and America who visited different areas. You saw that even from Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia and some other countries,” said Abdul Jabar Noorzai, General Manager of Herat Museum.
In Herat, there are more than 700 historical sites, in addition traditional industries found throughout the city – which are key drawcards among foreign visitors.
Domestic tourism to Nangarhar has meanwhile also increased substantially as people flock to the historic palace of Siraj Al-Amart in Jalalabad.
Visitors have described this palace as a good place for recreation and tourism, but say the authorities need to complete the work on a museum in the gardens as soon as possible so as to attract more tourists.
The gardens, which have a long history, have attracted the attention of tourists from different provinces of the country.
Nangarhar Department of Information and Culture officials say that almost 80 percent of work on the museum has been completed and that it will open soon.
The palace is an ancient structure that was built during the reign of Shah Amanullah Khan. It has great cultural and historical significance for the people of Afghanistan.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over the state of relations between Kabul and Islamabad during a meeting with Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq.
Sadiq, who is leading Islamabad’s delegation, is in Kabul for the 7th session of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting.
The meeting comes amid growing tensions between the two countries, with Afghan refugee deportations and skirmishes along the border.
Pakistan, which has seen an increase in security incidents in the past few years, has also repeatedly accused the Islamic Emirate of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghanistan.
Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on Wednesday that Muttaqi “expressed his deep concern over the state of relations between Kabul and Islamabad”, particularly regarding the forced deportation of Afghan refugees.
Muttaqi emphasized that both countries should resolve their issues through dialogue in an atmosphere of mutual trust and avoid actions or statements that may lead to public resentment or provoke emotions.
Sadiq in turn noted that the two neighboring countries share deep ties and should explore ways to resolve the challenges that have arisen.
Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and a high-ranking delegation, has left for Pakistan for talks on various issues.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce stated that the purpose of this trip is to assess and resolve existing obstacles in trade, transit, and transportation between the two countries, as well as to hold discussions regarding the challenges faced by Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan.
The high-level delegation led by Azizi includes representatives from the office of the Economic Deputy Prime Minister, the Investment Facilitation Directorate of the Administrative Office, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Refugees and Repatriation,
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Khalilzad says Pakistan might be using migrant expulsions to infiltrate ISIS into Afghanistan
Washington’s former special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said in a social media post on Wednesday that he is concerned Pakistan might be using the expulsion of refugees as a cover to send in ISIS fighters into Afghanistan.
In a post on X on Wednesday, April 16, Khalilzad said: “Knowledgeable people tell me that they are concerned that the Pakistan establishment might well be using the expulsion of Afghan refugees as a cover to send ISIS terrorists to Afghanistan. I share this concern.”
Khalilzad did not elaborate further, nor did he clarify who the “knowledgeable people” were.
The Islamic Emirate has long been known to fight ISIS and has in the past accused Pakistan of supporting the militant group.
In January, Afghanistan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs said ISIS was operating training centers in Pakistan.
Khalilzad’s remarks come amid intensified efforts by Pakistan to deport hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees in the country.
Pakistan began deporting undocumented Afghans in October 2023 but following a directive in December, authorities ramped up the deportations from April 1. In the first two weeks of this month over 45,000 Afghans returned.
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