Tourism in chains
THIS is with reference to a news report carried on June 9. It is going to give a rude shock to the people of Chitral. The last time they got one was when the government declared Sharia in Chitral when Sufi Mohammad asked for it in Swat.
The report mercifully mentions ‘ambassadors, diplomats, international NGOs’ when describing a ‘foreigner’ to avoid the word ‘tourist’.
Even if the Home Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spares tourists from obtaining an NOC ‘a fortnight or at least 12 days in advance’ (impossible for any tourist), the soldier manning the barrier is unlikely to differentiate between one category of foreigner from another when demanding an NOC.
The order will have little impact on the daily lives of people living in D.I. Khan, Tank, Hangu and other parts of Malakand mentioned in the report. It will have a serious impact on the functioning of small hotels and on the lives of guides, porters and shopkeepers of Chitral.
This is a district wrongly placed in the Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The people of Chitral have struggled hard to keep their cultural values intact and have consequently succeeded in maintaining peace and harmony in their district despite what is happening in the rest of Malakand and on Chitral’s direct border with Afghanistan.
Their scenic valleys and majestic mountains have been a major attraction for adventure-loving tourists from all over the world who have been contributing immensely and directly to the local economy.
There are no other profitable avenues available in this harsh terrain where only six per cent of the land is cultivable, mostly with a single crop. Then there are places which are too high for any crop to grow at all and where people live mainly off animal products and from money earned by working as porters for trekking groups.
It is time the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government treated Chitral as a special area when looking at it as part of the Malakand division. Failure to do so will cause resentment among the peace-loving people.
Tourists who have entered Pakistan with a valid visitor’s visa are going to get a huge shock when they are asked to get an NOC “12 days in advance” by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The negative impact of this order will really be felt on tourism in the next season when the current lot of visitors to our country returns with horrible stories about their vacations in Pakistan.
SIRAJ ULMULK
Hindukush Heights, Chitral
This is so totally outrageous. .Chitral has remained peaceful despite all the terrorist activities in the region. .You are very right in saying 'this is a district wrongly place' . The decision will have adverse effects on the seasonal income of chitrali people through tourism. Such decisions should always be based after thorough research on the prevalent situation in every district.
Many thanks Siraju-ul-Muluk for this article, first of all I feel very sorry for the people of Chitral being part of Pokhtunkhaw, secondly being part of the complex situtation. Chitral is a peaceful area where everybody can enjoy their lives. I traveled there several times with my family, each time I found Chtral is the most peaceful areas on the planet, the people are most civilized and peaceful people on the planet. Recently, I visited Chitral – I never found any protect inside Chitral or never hear after the incident of 1982. As being a citizen of the crowded city Lahore I was totally fade – up of protect against loadsheding etc.
Thank you very much for your interesting article, but I judged that security measure is more important then tourism, because the geographical importance of chitral and fragile situations in chitral now a days. So appropriate handle and verification of international tourist is vital.
Many thanks for this article! If there wasn't any such restriction I would be sitting in a car on the road to Chitral in this moment. Instead I'm killing time in Islamabad, hoping that a flight will go tomorrow. Would have loved to see the scenery … I'm neither a danger for anyone in that region nor am I afraid of that trip. I'm just a normal person, foreign, doing a normal teaching job while living in Pakistan, who would have loved to experience nature and cultural history, and in my opinion anyone should have the freedom to do so – even NGO workers and diplomats by the way. Plus I feel very sorry for the people of Chitral who are missing out on their tourist business.