Ban imposed on travelling between KP and GB via Kaghan Valley

The district administration of Mansehra has decided to impose a complete ban on travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan via the Kaghan Valley until next summer, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday.

Assistant Commissioner Balakot Hasrat Khan said, “We have now completely restricted passenger vehicles, motorists and tourists from travelling to neighbouring GB for their safety.”  He said the decision to impose a travel ban between KP and GB was taken in a meeting attended by the heads of all relevant departments.

The Assistant Commissioner further said that the Chilas (GB) district administration and police were in contact with Mansehra’s administration, and they too had imposed a ban on travel along the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road. 

“We have decided to allow tourists to travel only up to Battakundi and Saiful Muluk between 11 am and 3 pm, and only with chained tyres, as vehicles cannot move safely on icy roads before or after the four hours,” the assistant commissioner said.

He clarified that no restrictions had been placed on travel up to Naran until the next spell of snowfall. The official said most of the indigenous community settled in Barawai, Battakundi, and other areas beyond Naran had already migrated, while the remaining people were expected to leave within a week or after the second snowfall in the Kaghan valley.

He stated that police posts in the upper reaches of the valley had also been closed for the winter. “We expect the Kaghan–Babusar Top section of the MNJ road to reopen in early May next year, and until then the valley will remain completely closed to movement,” he said.

Reporter: Syed Nauman Shah