Zeeshan S.
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Pakistan to host world Buddhist summit
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the International Buddhist Summit in October this year. All Buddhist monks and prime ministers of the participating countries will attend the summit.
A 16-member delegation headed by Myanmar Chief Priest Dr Ashin met with Toursim Federal Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar on Thursday to decide the details of the international summit.
During the meeting, also attended by the Myanmar ambassador, it was decided that the summit would be held in the last week of October here.
This annual summit is the holy gathering of Buddhists and leading Buddhist scholars from around the world. The reason behind hosting this summit in Pakistan is to honour this country where Buddhism originated and which has a rich Buddhist heritage dating back thousands of years.
The meeting also decided that formal announcements regarding the summit organisation would be made in May on Buddhaââ¬â¢s birthday when another Buddhist monksââ¬â¢ delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan.
The Buddhist leader said during the meeting that Pakistan was their religionââ¬â¢s motherland, and that a coordination office for the summit would be set up in Islamabad prior to the religious gathering.
During his weeklong stay in Pakistan, Ashin visited Buddhist holy sites in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Taxila and Swat.
Nilofar said Pakistan respected all religions and Buddhism in particular, adding that Pakistan would do its best to restore and preserve Buddhists sites.
She said this was the ministry's initiative to promote 'religious tourism'. Pakistan has also offered visas on arrival to some countries to attract religious tourists, she added.
Later, Nilofar Bakhtiar also hosted a dinner in honour of the delegation at Damn-e-Koh. online
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\06\story_6-4-2007_pg7_57
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host the International Buddhist Summit in October this year. All Buddhist monks and prime ministers of the participating countries will attend the summit.
A 16-member delegation headed by Myanmar Chief Priest Dr Ashin met with Toursim Federal Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar on Thursday to decide the details of the international summit.
During the meeting, also attended by the Myanmar ambassador, it was decided that the summit would be held in the last week of October here.
This annual summit is the holy gathering of Buddhists and leading Buddhist scholars from around the world. The reason behind hosting this summit in Pakistan is to honour this country where Buddhism originated and which has a rich Buddhist heritage dating back thousands of years.
The meeting also decided that formal announcements regarding the summit organisation would be made in May on Buddhaââ¬â¢s birthday when another Buddhist monksââ¬â¢ delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan.
The Buddhist leader said during the meeting that Pakistan was their religionââ¬â¢s motherland, and that a coordination office for the summit would be set up in Islamabad prior to the religious gathering.
During his weeklong stay in Pakistan, Ashin visited Buddhist holy sites in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Taxila and Swat.
Nilofar said Pakistan respected all religions and Buddhism in particular, adding that Pakistan would do its best to restore and preserve Buddhists sites.
She said this was the ministry's initiative to promote 'religious tourism'. Pakistan has also offered visas on arrival to some countries to attract religious tourists, she added.
Later, Nilofar Bakhtiar also hosted a dinner in honour of the delegation at Damn-e-Koh. online
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\06\story_6-4-2007_pg7_57
