MANSEHRA: The police on Wednesday rescued over 150 tourists, including women and children, who were stranded in the snow-covered high-altitude areas of Kaghan Valley.

“We have rescued more than 150 tourists stranded in around 50 vehicles near Babusar Top and other parts of the valley,” district police officer Shafiullah Khan Gandapur told reporters.

He said the tourists, who were travelling in the upper parts of Kaghan Valley and between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, were trapped amid heavy snowfall. He said police teams reached the stranded travellers, retrieved their vehicles from the snow, and shifted them to hotels and safe shelters in Naran and nearby areas.

“Our rescue operation continued throughout the night, and all stranded tourists were safely evacuated in police vans. We also provided them with whatever assistance we could,” Mr Gandapur said.

He added a tourist van carrying 12 people, including women and children, was also towed to safety using a police patrolling vehicle.

Mr Gandapur said due to inclement weather and icy conditions on Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, traffic between KP and GB had been suspended for safety reasons.

“If weather clears and ice melts, we will decide when to allow the movement of vehicles between the two regions. For now, traffic beyond Soach area has been restricted,” he said.

The National Highway Authority also started removing snow from MNJ Road from Basil downward to Naran so that tourists’ stranded vehicles could move to their respective destinations across the country.

Meanwhile, a restaurant in Basel area offered free accommodation and meals to stranded tourists and passengers.

“We extended hospitality to those trapped while travelling between KP and GB when snowfall began and the MNJ Road became slippery and dangerous,” said Hussain Deen Swati, the restaurant owner.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2025