CHITRAL: Three Malaysian tourists stranded at Shandur Top while going to Gilgit-Baltistan from Chitral were rescued by the personnel of Chitral Levies and were handed over to the Gilgit Scouts.

Upper Chitral deputy commissioner Haseebur Rehman Khalil told Dawn on Monday that the tourists were stranded due to heavy snowfall on Sunday afternoon.

He said that on being informed of the situation, he mobilised a contingent of Levies force based in the nearby Upper Laspur post to the spot, who successfully rescued the Malaysian tourists and their guides and handed them over to the Gilgit Scouts.

He said that the Shandur Pass Road was the only route connecting Chitral with GB, which remained snow-clad during the winter season, while National Highway Authority had been approached time and again to keep the road opened by clearing the snow.

The DC said that the Levies force posted in Laspur had been directed to rush to the rescue if any passengers were stranded on the Shandur Top in future.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2025