GILGIT: Heavy rains triggered massive landslides and mudflows that blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Diamer and the Baltistan Road in Skardu on Wednesday, stranding a large number of travellers.
The hazardous weather prompted the National Disaster Management Authority to issue extended landslide and flood alerts across the country’s northern regions through next week, while local agencies scrambled to reopen major thoroughfares.
According to the local administration and the GB Disaster Management Authority, the Karakoram Highway has been temporarily closed to all traffic due to landslides and falling debris at various places from Gunar Farm to Lal Padi in Chilas area of Diamer.
In a statement, the local administration said concerned agencies, including the National Highway Authority, are busy with road rehabilitation and debris removal work. Officials requested that all tourists and travellers avoid travelling on the highway and check the latest road conditions before departure.
The abrupt closures left a large number of people travelling to and from GB stranded, with long queues of vehicles seen on both sides of the KKH.
The GBDMA reported that the Baltistan Road was also blocked after landslides struck near Maloopa in the Roundu area of Skardu.
The local administration said work is underway to clear the road for traffic, though passengers travelling to and from Baltistan remained stranded for many hours. The National Emergency Operations Centre of the NDMA had also issued an alert regarding a possible flood situation in Punjab, KP, GB, Azad Kashmir and Balochistan from June 16 to June 19.
Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2026