"The people of Diamer condemn this heinous act against innocent foreigners and call for immediate action": lawmaker. PHOTO: AFP
Sunday’s gruesome attack on foreign tourists near the base camp of Nanga Parbat has drawn widespread public condemnation, with many urging the government to expose ‘elements’ threatening security in the region.
“The people of Diamer condemn this heinous act against innocent foreigners and call for immediate action against terrorists, who would have entered the base camp through Kashmir, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa or Diamer,” said advocate Fidaullah, a former G-B lawmaker.
“We want the authorities to monitor the routes leading into Diamer from Kashmir and Kaghan/Naran to stop infiltration of terrorists into the region,” demanded Fidaullah.
Condemning the attack, opposition leader in the G-B Assembly Janbaz Khan said, “It’s a conspiracy and I have no doubts about saying this.”“Attacking tourists means attacking the livelihood of the people associated with the tourism industry,” he added.
Khan said the people of Diamer Valley are hospitable and love to serve tourists.
Lamenting the attack, Gulam Ali Raikoti, a prominent development specialist from the valley, said that the incident would deal a blow to an already reeling tourism industry in the area. Raikoti also criticised the media for wrongly attributing Fairy Meadows to the incident.
“Fairy Meadows is too far away from the place of the shooting. Media should correct its facts.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ