Unabated Indian shelling ruins Neelum Valley tourism

Villages near Working Boundary suffer human and economic losses

MUZAFFARABAD/ SIALKOT, NAROWAL: The picturesque Neelum Valley tucked in the mountains of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is a popular tourist destination. The 200-kilometre-long thickly forested idyllic valley, with its bountiful scenic beauty, attracts droves of local and foreign tourists all the year round. But ceasefire violations by India’s Border Security Force (BSF), which are increasing in frequency and intensity, have hit the local tourism industry hard.



On Saturday alone, Indian troops shelled villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Ashkot, Karen and Gurez areas of Neelum Valley for four hours, scaring away not just the local population but also tourists.

“I came from Lahore to spend the weekend in Neelum Valley. When I reached Muzaffarabad, the manager of the guest house where I had booked a room informed me that they are closing the facility due to Indian shelling,” tourist Rehan Malik told The Express Tribune.

Indian troops are deliberately targeting tourist spots and guest houses. “It’s the first time since the 2003 ceasefire agreement that BSF is shelling tourist spots which is unbelievable,” said Khawaja Awais, whose guest house was badly damaged by Indian mortars in the Karen area of Neelum. Two staffers of the guest house and a guest were wounded.



“We were making arrangements for a tourist group of 150 people when a mortar shell landed on the lawns where the guests were supposed to have their lunch. A few minutes later another mortar barrelled through the rooftop into the lobby,” Awais said, adding that more than 12 mortars were fired at the guest house within half an hour.

Apart from Awais’s facility, two more guest houses were also shelled by Indian forces. Traffic on the Neelum Valley road in Lawat area was also targeted.



According to unofficial stats, Neelum Valley attracts more than one million visitors every year who stay in more than 600 hotels and guest houses in the valley.

“Occupancy in all the guest houses and hotels has gone down to zero as the owners have stopped taking bookings,” local journalist Khawaja Fayaz told The Express Tribune. “They are bearing a 200-million-rupee loss daily,” he added. “Similarly, bakers, vegetable venders, tea shop owners, and restaurateurs in the valley are also praying for normalcy to return.”

The top local administrator said tourists would not be allowed to travel to Neelum Valley until tensions along the LoC defused. “Security of tourists is our priority. We will lift the travel ban after we are convinced the area is secured,” Neelum Valley Deputy Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan said.

Life in border villages

Apart from the LoC, Indian aggression on the Working Boundary also continues unabated, triggering exodus of people from border villages.

Villages within five kilometres of the Working Boundary have been almost abandoned by residents who have been forced to leave their homes and cattle, and take shelter in schools and rented houses outside the firing range.

At least one member from each family is staying back to secure their houses from possible robberies. Locals have also been forced to leave behind old family members who are unable to make the journey to safe places. Sporadic skirmishes have been continuing along the Working Boundary in Harpar, Chuprar, Pukhlian and Shakargarh Sectors since Saturday, according to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday.

It added that Pakistani troops were effectively targeting Indian posts in response to unprovoked Indian firing. The ISPR also denied India’s claims of destroying a Pakistani post at the LOC in Neelum Valley on Friday.



According to local sources, exchange of fire between the two forces continues for hours and increases in intensity if there are casualties on either side. Due to the fluid security situation, authorities have closed state-run and private schools, while schools in areas away from the border have been turned into shelter camps.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2016.