Prince Charles and his wife Camilla have begun their five day goodwill tour of Pakistan. At the start of his visit Prince Charles and his wife Camilla expressed their appreciation of Pakistan's efforts countering global terrorism.
Prince Charles and his wife held private meetings with the Pakistan's president General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. During his meetings, Prince Charles had discussions on wide range of topics including Pakistan's efforts to deal with terrorism. The two leaders also discussed the relief and rebuilding efforts after the devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan which killed more than 74,000 people.
The case of Mirza Tahir Hussain, the Briton who was due to be hanged for murdering a taxi driver in Pakistan was also raised during the meeting. He was due to be hanged on Wednesday but the execution was delayed for two months after Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened in the matter. The issue is highly sensitive and human rights campaigners in Britain are hopeful that during this visit Prince Charles can convince the Pakistani President to pardon Hussain and to commute the sentence.
The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall are on their first private visit to the country in which more than 750,000 British Muslims have family ties. Although tight security arrangements will limit the royal couple's interaction with the ordinary Pakistanis, they hope to be able to visit a madrassa and an Islamic school in Pakistan.
Although the madrassas in Pakistan have gained the global reputation as militant recruiting grounds, the majority are still providing facilities like basic education and lodging for children of poor families.
Meanwhile the Pakistan government showed their hospitality by giving the royal couple lavish gifts. Camilla was gifted two outfits designed by Farah Leghari who is one of Pakistan's top designers. The Duchess was gifted a "Croyalu" blue evening tunic embroidered with crystal chips and tiny diamond which she planned to wear for the banquet in the royal couple's honour and a "Chotu" pink shalwar kameez decorated with silver and pearls which was designed for her visit to a mosque. Prince Charles was gifted a white woollen chitrali hat which he promised to try out in private.
