MANSEHRA: The district administration on Saturday warned visitors against venturing into the snowbound Kaghan Valley, saying all civic and police services in the area have been suspended until next April.

“The main artery connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit-Baltistan has been completely blocked due to snowfall, while the police have withdrawn personnel posts in Naran and beyond,” deputy commissioner Khalid Iqbal told reporters in his office here.

He said the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, which was closed to traffic last month after heavy snowfall in Kaghan Valley beyond Soach, is now off-limits to visitors starting from Kaghan the commercial hub of the valley.

“Police deployed at the Kaghan checkpost are ensuring that visitors and motorists do not go to Naran and beyond, as the risk of mishaps triggered by inclement weather is high,” Mr Iqbal said.

DC says risk of mishaps high due to bad weather

He said that 99 per cent of hotels and other commercial establishments in Naran had already closed for the rest of the winter season.

“The MNJ Road is completely blocked as indigenous communities from Soach, Battakundi, Barawai and other parts of the valley have moved to low-lying areas in the district and other parts of Hazara division for the winter season,” he said.

The DC said personnel from all nine police posts in Kaghan Valley, except the Kaghan police station, meant for the security of people bound for GB, had been withdrawn.

“Police contingents deployed in different parts of the valley have been relocated to their winter destinations within the district,” he said.

Mr Iqbal said the people planning to travel to the district should opt for tourist destinations like Shogran and Balakot instead of the inaccessible Kaghan Valley.

Meanwhile, Torghar’s district development advisory committee is set to execute a Rs65 million worth of project for the local women’s development.

Committee chairman and MPA Laiq Mohammad Khan told reporters on Saturday that tendering for development schemes would be completed in the first week of Dec.

He said work on a hostel would begin soon to cater to the needs of women posted to the district from other parts of the province.

Mr Khan said Bartoni Road would be carpeted at a cost of Rs66 million, Kamasar-Basikhel Road at Rs84 million, and several link roads at over Rs20 million, while 74 mosques would be solarised at a cost of Rs49 million.

He said health and educational projects initiated during the last government would be swiftly completed after the release of funds.

Meanwhile, the Balakot police have arrested a man for torturing and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in the Joshal Jol forest.

Deputy superintendent of police Tanveer Khan told reporters in the Paras area that the girl was raped when she was grazing her herd in the forest.

He also said the assault was filmed.

The DSP said the accused, who was accompanied by a woman, warned the girl against reporting the incident, but she lodged a complaint with the police after the assault video went viral. He said a medical examination confirmed the assault.

The DSP said the police had arrested the main accused during a raid in Nullah Joshal, while search for his accomplices was under way.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024