WASHINGTON DC (ABC): Embassy of Pakistan Washington DC showcased Pakistan’s rich cultural diversity, economic and tourism potential during Passport DC’s annual “Around the World Embassy Tour” program.
The event, held annually, provides an ideal platform to display Pakistan’s captivating tapestry of natural wonders, from its majestic mountains to lush green fields, pristine beaches, and enchanting deserts, unveiling a realm of unparalleled beauty and cultural richness waiting to be discovered.
The indoor event attracted more than four thousand attendees mostly comprising US citizens from Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and other states, nationals of other countries and Pakistani-Americans. They also included diplomats, government officials, people working and doing businesses in DC, professionals from United States and other parts of the world, media persons and others.
The event that was scheduled to start at 10:00 am, started much before its scheduled time, and continued till 1630 hrs with continued arrival of the guests in large numbers and their visits to various stalls.
Passport DC is a month-long journey around the world highlighting DC’s thriving international diplomatic community.
Various corners of jam-packed ground floor and Jamshed Marker Hall of the Embassy, exhibiting soft power of the country, became center of attraction of the visitors in the backdrop of Pakistani folk tunes.
The stalls included stitched and unstitched designer clothes, paintings of renowned Pakistani artist, handcrafts, artifacts, truck art, sports goods, gems and jewelry and agricultural products. A special focus was laid on exhibiting and introducing Pakistan’s economic prowess to attract US investments in the country.
The American guests queued at henna stall to have their hands painted. The visitor also enjoyed rich menu of Pakistani food that was served to introduce unique tastes of Pakistani cuisine.
The incredible taste journey, from spicy Biryani and sizzling Barbeque to sweet Jalebi, Dahi Bharay and delightful crunch of Gol Gappay, left everyone amazed. The visitors showed keen interest in sipping Pakistani Chai (Tea).
The guests also showed great interest in the stall set up for projection of Urdu language. Urdu Calligrapher Javed Iqbal used his skills in writing names of hundreds of visitors in Urdu language.
Ambassador Masood Khan thanked the visitors for their enthusiastic participation. He went from stall to stall and introduced Pakistani culture and artifacts to the guests.
During his interaction with the visitors, the ambassador expressed the hope that the event would serve not only to introduce Pakistan to the US and the international audience but would also help in promoting greater people-to-people and cultural ties in the near future.
In their views, the guests thanked the Ambassador and the Embassy of Pakistan for providing them with an opportunity to experience richness of Pakistani cultural diversity and economic and tourism potential of the country.
“This is incredibly beautiful,” observed one of the participants after witnessing a glimpse of the beauty of Pakistan.