THIS refers to Gilgit-Baltistan’s issues related to education and travel. Owing to lack of universities, students move to other cities for higher education.

For this, they need to travel either by air or road. The chief problem is transportation. Flights always depend on weather conditions, which are often not suitable for flying. As a result, flights are often cancelled.

The air fares are so high that most people cannot afford air travel. A Karachi-to-Islamabad flight is of two hours and PIA’s minimum airfare is Rs10,000, while the fare from Gilgit-Baltistan to Islamabad is the same, although it is just a 45-minute flight. Isn’t it an exploitation of the GB people?

If students travel by road, it takes minimum 23 to 26 hours to reach Islamabad from Skardu and it takes same number of hours to return. Apart from the long duration of travel, a journey by road is also risky as the Karakoram Highway is carved out of rocky mountains. Besides, the KKH is often blocked because of weather conditions.

There is also a possibility of attacks on buses by terrorists, who kill people on the basis of sect and religion. Owing to these issues, most students either leave their studies or can’t complete their higher education.

PIA authorities and the government should look into the matter and reduce the PIA airfare between Islamabad and Skardu.

Syed Noorulain Chunda

Skardu

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017