Daily Times

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Friday concluded their five-day kaleidoscopic tour to Pakistan, carrying back home a bundle of fond memories featuring country’s vibrant culture, people and places.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, who visited Islamabad, Chitral, Lahore and Rawalpindi, held back-to-back activities including interaction with locals, raising awareness on topics of education, health and climate change, and attending an event on religious tolerance. As a final engagement before boarding their departure flight, the couple visited the Army Canine Centre in Rawalpindi this morning, which has been modeled on the UK Defence Training Centre in Melton Mowbray.

William and Kate were accompanied by Golden Labrador puppies Sky and Salto as they took round of the facility, where British officials help their Pakistani counterparts train the animals sniff the improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Rebecca English, UK’s Daily Mail correspondent, who was part of the royal delegation, tweeted that the Duke during the visit to the dog training centre mentioned that Pakistanis has lost a lot of lives securing large parts of their country and those sacrifices should be acknowledged. “Actually what happens here in Pakistan directly correlates to what happens on the streets of the UK,” Rebecca said quoting Prince William.

The couple’s last day activities were rescheduled after they were forced to stay overnight in Lahore as their Royal Air Force flight could not land at Nur Khan Air Base due to inclement weather Thursday night, putting off plans of their visit to Big Ben Point at the iconic Khyber Pass. The earlier days of the trip, however, offered the couple a true taste of Pakistan’s cultural and scenic beauty.

The visit to Chitral was ‘cherry on the top’ as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge witnessed the living 3,000-year-old Kalash civilization’, believed to be the descendants of Alexander The Great. They explored the scenic beauty of magnificent Hindu Kush peaks, besides witnessing a melting Chiatibo Glacier hit by devastating effects of climate change.

The other activities included visit to an Islamabad school, SOS orphan village, National Cricket Academy, Badshahi Mosque, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital besides a colorful reception at the Pakistan National Monument.

Kate Middleton’s choice of outfits in line with Pakistani traditional trio – kurta, trouser and shawl – was given prominence by the mainstream national media. She was admired for sporting with pride Kalash’s traditional brightly coloured beaded cap with fuchsia plume, embroidered off-white gown and regimental headgear of Chitral Scouts.