MANSEHRA: The Mansehra district administration on Thursday imposed a complete ban on travel between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) via the Kaghan Valley until next summer.
As reported in the Media, the Balakot tehsil Assistant Commissioner, Hasrat Khan, informed reporters on Thursday, “We have now completely restricted passenger vehicles, motorists, and tourists from travelling to neighbouring GB for their safety.” He explained that the decision to implement the travel ban was made during a meeting with the heads of all relevant departments.
Khan mentioned that the district administration and police of Chilas (GB) were in contact with Mansehra’s administration and had also banned 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 these four hours,” he said.
He clarified that no restrictions had been placed on travel up to Naran until the next spell of snowfall. The official noted that most of the local community residing in Barawai, Battakundi, and other areas beyond Naran had already migrated, while the remaining residents were expected to leave within a week or after the second snowfall in the Kaghan Valley.
Khan added 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 Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad (MNJ) road to reopen in early May next year, and until then, the valley will remain completely closed to movement,” he stated.
