CHITRAL: Residents of Oveer Valley of Upper Chitral have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department and embassy of Norway in Islamabad to select their valley as venue for celebrations marking the platinum jubilee of the first-time scaling of Terich Mir peak of Hindukush system of mountains.
Speaking at a meeting held in Barum village here on Tuesday, the speakers, including Fakhruddin, Amir Wali, Sarbaland Khan and others, said that the route through the Oveer Valley was the earliest path followed by the expeditions in their attempts to summit Terich Mir.
They said in 1950, a Norwegian expedition had created history by mounting the peak by using the Oveer Valley route, thus making it mandatory for the organisers of the celebrations to make the valley as the hub of activities instead of Terich Valley.
The residents contended that Terich Valley route was used for ascending the peak late in 1970s, while Oveer Valley route was still operative as an expedition team had scaled the top successfully in 1990.
The hailed the government initiative to mark 2025 as the ‘Year of Terich Mir’, which will boost tourism by highlighting the beauty and attractions of Terich Mir and hundreds of peaks of Hindukush with altitudes of 6,000 metres and above.
The speakers said the news of holding the platinum jubilee celebrations funded by the Norwegian government in Terich Valley had sent shockwaves across the Oveer Valley residents.
They warned that if the decision was not rescinded they would block the road on the occasion of Shandur polo festival or disrupt events in Terich.
They also decided to challenge the decision in the court.
ELECTED: Former district naib nazim Maulana Abdul Shakoor was elected as district emir and former tehsil nazim Maulana Mohammad Ilyas general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Lower Chitral chapter, as per the result of intra-party elections.
An announcement made by the election body said four candidates were in the run for the slot of district emir with Maulana Shakoor bagging 213 votes out of 455 votes cast.
Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2025
