The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended an event on Wednesday organized by Prince Karim Aga Khan at the Aga Khan Center in Kings Cross, where they engaged with members of the Pakistani community before their official visit to Pakistan from 14 to 18 October.
Prince Karim received the royal couple at the entrance of the place, where they were seen exchanging jokes and talking about the next visit to Pakistan. At the end of the event, the couple was accompanied by Aga Khan and the High Commissioner of Pakistan in the United Kingdom, Nafees Zakaria.
Kate Middleton wore a dark green dress, with earrings from a Pakistani clothing and accessories designer Zeen.
The Aga Khan Center has a collection of gardens, patios and terraces, which provide insight into the diversity and influence of Islamic landscape design throughout the world and throughout history.
"This is an opportunity for your highnesses to come to the Aga Khan Center, which is an important building here in London," said Mahmood Ahmed, president of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the United Kingdom. "This building promotes the notions of pluralism and also represents our network that does a lot of work in the developing world."
"We have a special relationship with Pakistan, but due to the next visit of their royal highnesses there, we decided to invite them here so they can meet the Pakistani diaspora and people from different walks of life based here in the United Kingdom," he said, He added that the guests included people from Pakistan who had made their homes here and stood out.
"Presents them [Kate and William] Pakistan gives them the opportunity to talk a little with the people there and get an idea of where they are going. ”
British-Pakistani businessman Aneel Mussarat, who was invited by the Pakistan mission, said it was a good event.
The organizers said the event was specially held to showcase the culture and heritage of Pakistan to the royal couple and was attended by prominent members of the fields of arts and culture, business, community development, entertainment and the music of the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Members of the diplomatic community, including Mr. Zakaria and the United Kingdom High Commissioner Thomas Drew CBE, also attended the event.
Aga Khan is the founder and president of AKDN, a group of development agencies that works to improve the living conditions of people in Africa, Central and South Asia and the Middle East. The network is active in more than 30 countries, including Pakistan, and participates in initiatives ranging from education, health, economic development to culture.
British-Pakistani chef Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, who won the 2017 Master Chef, posted later on Twitter, saying: “An absolute highlight in his career! Knowing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, before his tour of Pakistan! I was able to design a Pakistani themed lunch menu. "
Kensington Palace, the official Twitter account for the royal couple, tweeted saying they met a variety of British Pakistanis, including DJ and producer Naughty Boy, table virtuoso Shahbaz Hussain, flute master Muhammad Noman and the musician Maha Malik.
Posted on Dawn, October 3, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1508725/aga-khan-hosts-british-royal-couple-ahead-of-pakistan-visit