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Pakistan
AsiaSouth Asia

British royal couple William and Kate arrive in Pakistan for ‘complex’ visit amid tight security

  • It is the first trip to Pakistan by members of the royal family since Prince Charles and his wife Camilla came in 2006
  • Pakistan, which had witnessed several terror attacks, has deployed more than 1,000 commandos for the couple’s protection

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Prince William and his wife Kate arrived at Nur Khan base in Islamabad. Photo: AP
Kaswar Klasra
Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in Pakistan to a red carpet welcome late on Monday for their “most complex” tour to date, with Islamabad eager to tout improved security after years of violent militancy.

The couple – the Duchess of Cambridge in a sea-green shalwar kameez, and the Duke in a dark suit – were greeted by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and presented with flowers after they landed in a British government plane at a military base in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjacent to the capital Islamabad, state television images showed.

A senior official at Pakistan’s Ministry of the Interior said more than 1,000 commandos would provide “round-the-clock security cover” for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, in addition to “thousands” of policemen and rangers who will also be on duty.

The royal couple’s five-day visit comes as Britain steps up its bilateral ties with allies ahead of the country’s impending departure from the European Union this month, while Pakistan tries to boost the confidence of investors to help shore up its struggling economy.

It is the first royal visit to Pakistan in more than a decade, after William’s father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited in 2006.

While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official Twitter account, Kensington Palace, released a short video on Sunday showing preparations for the trip, few specific details have been released due to security concerns.

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