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The city of Taxila, about 35 kilometers from Islamabad, with its riches of archeological sites, is generally regarded as the first stop by foreign tourists, particularly Buddhists. Most of the Buddhist archeological sites in Taxila were built between 600 BC and 500 AD and are located around the Taxila Museum. For over a thousand years during the heyday of the Gandhara civilization, Taxila remained a centre for promoting sculpture, architecture and education in Buddhism. Over 50 sites of archeological importance are scattered within a radius of 30 kilometers around Taxila and all of them are based on the life of Lord Buddha.

It may be interesting for many to note that Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal. Dharmarajika Stupa situated in Taxila was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Another Buddhist site of archeological and historical importance is in Takht-i-Bahi, which is located about 170 kilometers from Islamabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The site comprises ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery situated high atop a 152-meter hill. Tope Mankiala in Punjab is the Buddhist site where, according to a legend, Lord Buddha had fed seven hungry tiger cubs with his body parts. At Katas Raj is a famous Buddhist stupa, which is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Around Peshawar city alone, there are over 500 heritage sites and monuments. The only functional Buddhist temple in Pakistan is located in the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad and is used by Buddhist diplomats from Sri Lanka and other countries.

Pakistan is an Islamic country but the cultural heritage and historical monuments of all other religions and faiths are duly preserved and protected in the country. This rich heritage makes it an important pilgrimage destination for the followers of Buddhism and many other faiths.

The Swat Valley has many Buddhist carvings and stupas, and Jehanabad contains a Seated Buddha statue. Kushan era Buddhist stupas and statues in Swat Valley, most unfortunately, were demolished by religious extremists. After two attempts, the Jehanabad Buddha’s face was dynamited. Only the Bamiyan Buddhas were larger than the carved giant Buddha statue in Swat near Mangalore which the extremists had attacked.

Preservation of heritage along with religious tolerance quite obviously is key to restoring the confidence of pilgrim-tourists, especially the minorities. The regions are also being preserved and maintained.

Pakistan has been carrying out infrastructure development programmes ceaselessly. It has built wide highways across the country and possesses good road networks to connect people and resources. Construction work is underway for operation of metro trains in major cities. A separate road lane has been designated for operation of metro buses in Islamabad and Lahore.

The Pakistan Government is paying special attention to promotion of tourism and has taken a number of steps, including easing visa restrictions for the tourists and foreign investors

Islamabad could organize package tours for visitors from China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and other countries, including trips to Buddhist sites in Takht-i-Bahi, Swat, Peshawar and Taxila.

The region now known as Pakistan once had a large Buddhist population with the majority of people living in Gandhara, present day North Western Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara largely had Mahayana Buddhists and was also a stronghold for Vajrayana Buddhism. The Swat Valley, known in antiquity as Uddiyana, was a kingdom tributary of the Gandhara civlizarion. There are many archeological sites from the Buddhist era in Swat.

Gandhara remained a largely Buddhist land until around 899 AD when the Pashtun people invaded the region from Southern Afghanistan and introduced Islam. Buddhists in Punjab converted to Hinduism from 600 AD onwards. Buddhism was the faith practiced by the majority of the population of Sindh right up to the Arab conquest by the Umayyads in 710 AD. After the Partition of the sub-continent, the Buddhists fled to India, just as most of the Hindus and Sikhs did.

During the Muslim period, Gandhara was administered from Lahore or Kabul. During Mughul times the region was part of the Kabul province. The Gandharas were settled since the Vedic times on the banks of Kabul River (river Kubha or Kabol) up to its mouth into the Indus. The region is known as Peshawar Valley. Later, the Gandharas crossed the Indus and invaded parts of north-west Punjab. Gandhara was located on the grand northern high road (Uttarapatha) and was a centre of international commercial activities. It was an important channel of communication with ancient Iran and Central Asia.