Prince William and Kate Duke and Duchess of Cambridge start Pakistan tour with school visit – Daily Mail, Daily Mail

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on the first full day of their tour of Pakistan today by highlighting the importance of education and mental health with a school visit.

The couple visited the Islamabad Model College for Girls in the capital, touring classrooms and posing for a group picture with some of the young students, ranging from kindergarten age students to sixth formers.

The visit is designed to champion the importance of quality education, and highlight how girls benefit from pursuing higher education and professional careers.

Kate dazzled crowds as she stepped out in a traditional blue kurta and scarf by local designer Maheen Khan, while William opted for a casual shirt and trousers to stay cool in the Pakistan heat.

The Cambridges pulled up tiny chairs so they could sit and chat to pupils in their classroom at the school, which also teaches young boys.

The Government-run school in central Islamabad, which educates students between the ages of 4 and 18, was established in 1978.

It is currently benefits from the ‘Teach for Pakistan’ program, a fast-track teacher training program program modeled on the UK’s successful ‘Teach First’ scheme, which is focused on improving the quality of teaching in schools which serve families from disadvantaged backgrounds.

UK aid has helped more than 5.5 million girls get a quality education since 2011, according to the British High Commission. The duke spoke of the UK’s aim of teaching young people about mental health as he was leaving the school.

‘In the UK we’re trying to make sure mental health is part of education as well, ‘the duke told a teacher.

He said students from disadvantaged backgrounds do not have a’ stable health platform to build on ‘and that education in this area is important.

William has frequently spoken out on mental health, including recently lending his voice to a promotional video for Every Mind Matters, an initiative by Public Health England and the NHS.

He and Kate heard how students are benefiting from the Teach For Pakistan program, a fast-track teacher training scheme modeled on the UK’s successful Teach First.

Mohammed Sohailkhan, area education officer, explained that the quality of education, particularly for girls , ***

‘In recent years there has been gradual progress in understanding how important education is for girls and young women. There is a realization of what it can mean in terms of jobs and prospects, ‘he said.

‘ I can’t paint you an entirely rosy picture. It does still fluctuate wildly, particularly in rural regions, where there has traditionally been cultural barriers towards this, notably in terms of sending girls away to college. But these barriers are slowly being broken down. ‘

The couple’s next engagement was at the Margalla Hills National Park, north of Islamabad, where security officials were seen tightening up operations this morning in preparation.

Continuing the theme of education, the couple were meeting children from three local schools in the hills, which sit in the foothills of the Himalayas.

William and Kate are also due to have lunch with Prime Minister Imran Khan and attend a special reception at the National M onument in their first full day of engagements.

At an evening reception later on today, the couple’s first full day of engagements, the duke is set to say in a speech that the UK will continue to support the Commonwealth country as a ‘key partner and friend ‘.

The visit hopes to strengthen ties between the two nations. The UK is seeking to improve its international relations with Brexit looming, while Pakistan hopes to promote itself as a tourist destination amid security fears.

‘Pakistan is the world’s sixth largest country by population,’ the duke is due to say. ‘It has an unbelievably diverse geography that spans deserts to glaciers and everything in between. It is the birth place of the youngest ever Nobel peace prize winner.

‘We share unique bonds and so it will always be in our best interests for Pakistan to succeed.

‘Not least because of the 1.5 million people living in the UK with Pakistani origin and the fact that the UK is one of the biggest investors in Pakistan’s economy.

‘ You can always rely on the UK to keep playing an important role as a key partner and friend. ‘

More than 1, 000 Pakistani police officers have been deployed to secure the couple’s safety during their travels across the country. All details of their engagements will be released by the palace on the day for security reasons.

William and Kate were greeted off the plane by Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and his wife at the Pakistani Air Force base in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, on Monday night.

After their official welcome, William and Kate headed off in a heavily-guarded convoy to their base for the week, the High Commissioner’s official residence in the capital, Islamabad.

William was expected to spend the evening working on a major speech to be delivered tomorrow in which he is set to highlight the ‘unique bonds’ between the two countries, particularly the 1.5 million people of Pakistani origin living in the UK.

The couple’s presence in Pakistan – the first royal visit since Charles and Camilla undertook a lengthy tour in 2006 – has sparked a major security operation involving more than 1, 000 local police officers due to the ongoing threat of militant terrorism in the Muslim-majority state.

Pakistan has, in recent years, been damaged by allegations that the country military leadership have sponsored Taliban forces in neighbor Afghanistan and turned a blind eye to support for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was found living in a compound in Abbottabad in 2011.

It is hoped that a successful tour by the Cambridges will help Prime Minister Imran Khan’s efforts to restore his country’s reputation internationally.

The former international cricketer, who has known William since he was a child and was a friend of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will be meeting with the couple this week.

William and Kate’s travels will span more than 700 miles, taking in both the cities of Islamabad and Lahore, as well as vast mountainous regions in the north and west of the country.

The trip has been designed to showcase the best modern Pakistan has to offer and emphasize the ongoing political, cultural, social and economic ties it enjoys with the UK, highlighting Britain’s continuing role on the international stage away from the Brexit crisis.

Rising tensions with India over the disputed region of Kashmir and continuing concerns over Islamic terror groups means that details of the couple’s engagements are being kept under wraps until the last possible moment.

But a ides say the couple are still immensely looking forward to the ‘challenging’ visit, saying: ‘They are now in their late 30 s and ready to take on these more complex and demanding tours on behalf of the British Government. ‘

The couple are keen to meet as many Pakistanis as possible – particularly young people – and highlight work being undertaken to improves access to education for girls and young women, climate change and the ‘complex’ security picture.

The visit will also no doubt prove to be an emotional one for the prince His late mother dated British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan for two years before her death In 1997.

She famously visited the country with her friend Jemima Goldsmith, the British heiress who was then married to Imran Khan, to meet Hasnat’s family in 1996.

Authorities in Delhi and Islamabad both claim the Himalayan region in full, but each controls a section of the territory, recognized internationally as ‘Indian-administered Kashmir’ and ‘Pakistan-administered Kashmir’.

Skirmishes between the two sides at the de-facto border have increased this year, causing troop and civilian casualties.

Pakistan has seen a number of security incidents in recent months, including a bombing outside a shrine in central Lahore, as well as an attack by armed militants on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan.

With Brexit looming, the tour comes as London hopes to bolster its international relationships, while Islamabad is keen to promote itself as a tourist destination amid concerns over security and violence in the region.

It will span more than 620 miles of the country, including the capital Islamabad, the city of Lahore, the mountainous countryside in the north and border regions to the west.

Their itinerary includes a range of occasions and locations.

William and Kate are expected to meet leaders from government and well-known cultural figures and sporting stars, as well as visiting programs which empower young people.

They will also cover how communities in Pakistan are responding and adapting to climate change, and are due to spend time understanding the ‘complex security picture’ of the region.

Their tour of Pakistan comes more than 13 years since the last royal visit, seen as one of the most perilous royal foreign tours for some time, when the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall traveled to the country in 2006.

William and Kate are following in the footsteps of both his parents, as Diana, Princess of Wales, made the journey several times through her charity work.

An image of the Princess cuddling a gravely ill seven-year-old boy was among Dian a’s favorites and she kept a copy of it always.

It was taken amid the chaos of a Pakistan cancer hospital in 1996 and was a reflex action on her part.

The little boy did not once look at her because he was blind and had just weeks to live.

To Diana, the picture represented everything about how she wished to be seen: compassionate and ready to break down the barriers of protocol.

The Princess visited the country three times, once when married to Prince Charles and twice more after her separation when she was in love with the Pakistan-born heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

At the time, she was considering marriage to him and even moving to his homeland.

During her trips, she would slip away privately to meet his family but there will be no such cloak-and-dagger antics for Prince William.

It is far more likely that he and Kate will follow the template of Diana’s (tour, her first solo visit representing the Queen to a Commonwealth country.)

The couple have left their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, at home during th