• Mobile, internet services disrupted after damage to fibre optic cable
• Tourists rescued from Babusar Pass, given free lodging in Chilas
• GB chief minister declares flood-hit areas in Diamer as disaster zones
• 40 stranded in Manogah Nallah; dy speaker calls for helicopter rescue

GILGIT: Thousands of people, including foreign tourists, remai­ned stranded at multiple locations in Gilgit-Baltistan due to blocked roads, including the Karakoram Highway (KKH), due to landslides. Mobile and internet services across the region were also disrupted after fibre optic cables were damaged in several areas.

Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq confirmed that KKH is blocked at Achar Nallah in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Thousands of passengers, including tourists, travelling to and from GB are stranded on both sides of the highway.

He said that while KKH has been reopened for traffic within GB, restoration work is underway in Kohistan. The Babusar Pass Road is also blocked at several locations.

Mr Faraq assured that all tourists stranded on the Babusar route have been safely evacuated and search operations for missing individuals are underway. Those rescued from Babusar Pass have been brought to Chilas, where local hoteliers and government authorities have arranged complimentary accommodation.

The mobile and internet communication systems in the region were severely damaged, leaving the majority of residents without service for up to six hours on Wednesday. The region’s communication system relies on an optical fibre cable connecting GB with Rawalpindi.

According to the Special Commu­nications Organisation (SCO), recent flash floods in Babusar Valley caused significant damage to the main optical fibre cable. Emergency alternative satellite arrangements were made, but consumers faced slow mobile and internet connectivity. Mr Faraq said that work has begun to restore the communication system.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Sadia Danish expressed concern over the safety of 40 individuals stranded in Danyore’s Manogah Nallah in Gilgit. In a statement, she urged the government to initiate a helicopter rescue operation immediately.

Ms Danish emphasised tha protecting human lives should remain the top priority and recognised the efforts of the provincial government, the Pakistan Army, volunteers and residents in the rescue operations during the flood emergency.

She also commended the generosity of residents, who opened their homes, mosques, imambargahs and hotels to shelter stranded tourists.

Moreover, river erosion caused the collapse of the Hotu suspension bridge in Shigar, cutting off the only access to the K2 base camp. A large number of foreign expedition members and trekkers were stranded, while eight villages were also disconnected.

Officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that a C130 sortie will be arranged from Gilgit to Islamabad to airlift stranded travellers.

Stranded tourists are expected to receive airlifts free of charge on Thursday (today) in an operation overseen by Gilgit’s additional deputy commissioner.

GB Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan has assured that the rescue operations will continue until all stranded people in Babusar are rescued.

He also declared the flood-affected areas of Thaki, Niyat, Khunra and Thor in Diamer as disaster zones. He also announced that the families of those who died in the floods at Babusar will receive death compensation under the government policy.

The chief minister ordered urgent measures to restore drinking water, electricity, irrigation channels and road communications in the flood-affected areas of Thor. He also visited the flood-affected areas to oversee the recovery efforts along with Adviser on Forests Haji Shah Baig and GB Minister for Agriculture Engineer Anwar.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025