KHAPLU: A mountainous district in northern Pakistan that draws tens of thousands of local and international tourists every year could be one of the country’s “safest places,” according to locals and police officials.
Renowned for its picturesque landscapes and surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, Ghanche, which borders China’s Xinjiang province and the Indian-administered region of Ladakh, has not seen an armed robbery or other serious crimes such as murder in the past decade, a police official told Arab News.
The last reported murder occurred about 15 years ago.
“Ghanche is a very peaceful region of Gilgit-Baltistan. The crime rate here is quite negligible,” police chief Jan Muhammad told Arab News.
“We haven’t witnessed serious crimes such as murders or armed robberies for years.”
Muhammad said that people in the district were hospitable and peaceful, and he had never received any complaints from locals or tourists of personal belongings or valuables being stolen.
“This district is one of the safest places in northern Pakistan,” Muhammad said.
Police records show only 34 complaints of “an ordinary nature” registered across the district in 2020. This year, police in Ghanche received only three “minor complaints.”
Despite travel restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Ghanche continues to host foreign and local tourists, mainly due to its safe reputation.
“People prefer to travel to secure places, and Ghanche is the best place to visit due to its idyllic surroundings and peaceful environment,” said Muhammad Zanique, a tourist from Lahore. “This is my second trip, and I recommend everyone visits this area.”
Muhammad Nasim Rashpori, a hotel owner in Ghanche, said people usually left their houses and vehicles unlocked since there was “no concept” of theft in the district.
“Sometimes we find cell phones and wallets of tourists that they mistakenly leave behind in their rooms,” Rashpori said. “We do our best to trace the owners and return these items.”
The Pakistan Army’s brigade headquarters is located at Goma in Ghanche district. The army’s Gayari Sector Battalion Headquarters is 32 km west of Siachen Glacier.
Pakistan’s ‘safest place’ joins the tourist map
https://arab.news/nr2hd
Pakistan’s ‘safest place’ joins the tourist map
- Despite travel restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Ghanche continues to host foreign and local tourists, mainly due to its safe reputation
- Muhammad Nasim Rashpori, a hotel owner in Ghanche, said people usually left their houses and vehicles unlocked since there was ‘no concept’ of theft in the district
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
