IF one was to travel through the landscape of Pakistan and start from the beautiful beaches of Sindh and Balochistan, the sights would include deserts, rivers, lakes, mountains, forests … everything that a nation could ever desire. Pakistan has an extraordinary and magnificent variety of landscapes ranging from five of the highest mountain peaks in the world to some of the largest and unique plateaus and the awe-inspiring Indus plain.

In other words, Pakistan is a kaleidoscope of some of the most diverse natural beauty in the world; it is a cradle of ancient civilizations and a ‘melting pot’ of cultures and religions with beautifully built churches, temples, gurdwaras and mosques.

While its rich cultural heritage, ancient Grand Trunk and Silk Road, ruins of Mohenjo Daro and Taxila continue to enchant tourists, they can further venture and discover a lesser-known, wilder Pakistan. Situated just east of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the border with Afghanistan is the broad valley of Peshawar. Peshawar’s recorded history dates to at least 539BC, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest cities in South Asia.

Counted among the youngest countries in the world, Pakistan produces diversified talent catering to the global demand of professionals and skilled workers.

Moving across the country, places that would captivate minds include, but not limited to, Baltoro Glacier, Neelum Valley, Hingol National Park, Trango Towers, Deosai National Park, Thar Desert, Saiful Muluk, Hunza Valley and Attabad Lake. The Khewra salt-mines happen to be the second largest in the world. The Gwadar port is the largest deep seaport. K2 (Chagori) is the second highest mountain peak in the world. Mehrgarh (6,000BC) is counted amongst the oldest civilizations of the world, Chitral has the world’s highest polo-ground at 3,700 meters. Tarbela is the largest earth-filled dam in the world. The Shah Faisal Mosque accommodates 100,000 worshipers at a time. And the Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world.

Pakistan is blessed with abundant natural resources, which, besides ample virgin land, has copper fields, salt ranges, coal mines, coast line stretching over 1,100km, and gas reserves, to name but a few. Consequently, the country has well-established industrial base for textiles, cement, fertilizer, steel, sugar, engineering goods and leather, with industrial units providing value-added goods that are fast finding their way to global markets.

Major exports from Pakistan include cotton and textile goods, seafood, rice, spices, leather, sporting and surgical goods, carpets, fruits and vegetables as well as information technology which is fast becoming a major source of exports. This particular factor is on account of successive governments encouraging the young with their own start-ups.

Pakistan human resource constitutes 220 million, with over 50 per cent being under the age of 30; thus, it is counted among the youngest countries in the world producing diversified talent catering to the much-needed professionals and skilled workers.

The writer is leading member of the business community with a literary bent of mind.