The News – Tuesday, June 30, 2009 – Yousaf Ali
GILGIT: The worst condition of road is the main reason for the dwindling tourism in the beautiful valleys of Northern Areas where tourist activities are almost invisible in the peak season.
There are certainly other reasons contributing to the worsening tourism activities in this most peaceful region. The other reasons include the unclear status of the areas, their name and the sectarian tension, which sometime result in clashes.
“The road right from Gilgit to Thakot in Battagram district presents its worst shape. It is due to the lousy road the 14-hour drive from Gilgit to Pindi can now be covered in 25 long hours,” said a driver.
An official of Northern Areas Transport Corporation (Natco), wishing not to be named told, The News that the road might pose threat to the integration of the country, as according to him the people of the Northern Areas had serious reservations over the backbreaking land route.
Major portion of the 628-kilometre Gilgit-Thakot Road is badly damaged. The people of the areas and transporters feel no hesitation in blaming the construction companies and government authorities for the poor performance.
At several places the road has been dug, but not reconstructed. While the remaining parts of the highway have been reduced to a katcha track, as no-repair work could be carried out there for years.
Going towards the Chinese border, one can see a completely different picture, where the Chinese workers and engineers remain busy day and night in the widening and reconstruction project of Karakoram Highway.
The name of Northern Areas is another major reason affecting tourism in the area. Talking to a delegation of Peshawar-based journalists, Mir Ghazanfar Ali, chief executive of the Northern Areas, counted this name as the second major issue of the people of the six-district region.
He said Swat, Shangla, Dir and other restive region, too, were projected in national and international media as Northern Areas due to which tourists were reluctant to visit this region as well.
During a four-day visit to the region, this correspondent found these valleys extremely peaceful, which are located as several hundred kilometres from the restive parts of NWFP and tribal areas. There was no talk of militants or military. The routine activities were quiet normal.
Activity in the market places and the scenic valley, however, was thin due to short number of tourists. The traders, transporters and tourist operators were the most concerned about the minimum number of tourists as they were the major sufferers of it.
Though safe from the menace of militancy and terrorist activity, the region is plagued by sectarianism where sectarian tension remains high round the clock. Sometime sectarian violence is also witnessed in the region having a mixed population of Sunnis, Shias and Ismailis.
The clashes, however, remain thoroughly restricted to the local population. Both the sects — Shia and Sunni — refrain from inflicting any harm on tourists and visitors of the region. Coming down from Hunza on Saturday night, this correspondent found the Karakoram Highway blocked at a place in Nagar Valley called Jafarabad. They were protesting the killing of a young man from Shia community in police custody.
The road was blocked for 13 long hours and reopened for general traffic at around 10 p.m. Some of the protesters were of the opinion that it was not something sectarian, but an issue with the police and the government authorities. A large number of people had gathered on the main road where they staged a protest demonstration from morning till late evening, but none of the stranded vehicles or even the nearby police station was harmed. No doubt the followers of all the communities of the region consider sectarian incidents as purely local, but it certainly leaves negative impact on tourism.
