ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal Monday visited the newly constructed Islamabad International Airport and inspected various parts of the facility, which would be formally inaugurated on Tuesday (today). He also took round of various facilitation desks including VIP lounge and directed the staff deployed there to ensure maximum facilities to passengers in a highly professional and civilized manner. Besides, he reviewed different facilities being provided to both domestic and international passengers. The Aviation Division secretary and Civil Aviation Authority director general briefed the minister about facilities being extended to passengers at the airport. In a brief address to the immigration staff at their counters, the minister directed them to greet each and every passenger while stamping their passports. There must be a standard operating procedure to say foreigners ‘welcome to Pakistan’ and returning Pakistanis ‘welcome to home’ in a polite way. Terming the immigration staff ‘ambassadors and face of Pakistan’, the minister said he had great expectation from them and they would fully utilize their capabilities in further improving the country‘s image at international level. Later talking to media, Ahsan Iqbal congratulated the nation for having a new facility of international standard in federal capital of the country. He said when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government came into power, the airport project was not more than a ‘white elephant’ with grey infrastructure, adding that basic facilities like water, electricity and approach roads were missing. It was a sick project, which had been divided into different parts, having no utilization, he added. However, the PML-N government, under dynamic leadership of Nawaz Sharif, worked hard and brought the project to its completion, he said. He expressed confidence that the project would become a new symbol of progress and development for Pakistan at international level, after the PML-N government put the country on sustainable path to growth. “Pakistan is a rising country now,” he remarked. Published in Daily Times, May 1st 2018.