GILGIT, Oct 3: The annual Silk Route festival in the Northern Areas went unnoticed owing to lack of interest on the part of the department concerned which had failed to chalk out a plan to mark the event in an impressive manner.

Sources told Dawn that the Northern Areas administration and its tourism department had organised the International Silk Route Festival in the first week of September, but it failed to attract foreign and local tourists because of lack of publicity and the prevailing law and order in the region.

The sources said that a number of activities had been

planned on paper, but these could not be materialised by the event organisers, adding that joint efforts by the tourism department and non-governmental organisations also remained ineffective to achieve the desired results.