PESHAWAR: Authorities have rescued nearly 250 tourists who were stranded in Kumrat Valley after flash floods triggered by heavy rains washed away roads and bridges in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, official said on Saturday.
Kumrat Valley is a popular tourist destination in the Upper Dir district of KP which has reported 88 deaths in rain-related incidents since July 1, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The main road leading to Kumrat Valley had been washed away at Barikot, cutting it off from the rest of the province, while three bridges connecting Makrala and Thal areas were also swept away by floods.
Hundreds of tourists were left stranded in various parts of Kumrat Valley due to the floods who have all been evacuated to safety, according to KP Tourism Authority spokesman Saad bin Awais.
“Of them, 250 have been rescued who have left for their homes, while the rest have been shifted to hotels where they are being provided with free services,” he told Arab News. “All of the tourists were Pakistanis.”
Kumrat Valley is widely popular among local and foreign tourists because of its snow-clad mountains, green pastures and dense forests, according to the official. A total of 2,604,312 tourists, including 533 foreigners, visited the valley from September 2023 to August 2024.
Pakistan’s tourism industry generated $2.5 billion of revenue in 2022 and the figure was expected to go up to $4 billion in the next four years, according to the Pakistan Tourism Department Corporation (PTDC).
Bilal Faizi, a Rescue 1122 spokesperson, said two rescue teams had been dispatched to Kumrat and Barikot areas to rescue the tourists stuck in the region.
“We have also set up a medical camp in Barikot and are providing aid to the injured and sick,” he said, adding that four passenger buses had been sent in to the Upper Dir to transport the tourists to their respective areas.
Awais said continuous downpours, followed by floods, severely hampered rescue operations, saying that local residents, Rescue 1122, police and civil defense personnel were making all-out efforts to reopen the roads.
“The roads closed due to landslides will take almost two days to reopen,” he shared. “Heavy machinery is also being used to remove obstacles from roads in Kumrat Valley, but incessant rains are hampering the efforts.”
A day before, a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain hit a house in Upper Dir, killing 12 people of a family, according to authorities.
Authorities rescue 250 tourists after floods wash away roads leading to Pakistan’s Kumrat Valley
https://arab.news/z48yv
Authorities rescue 250 tourists after floods wash away roads leading to Pakistan’s Kumrat Valley
- Pakistan is currently receiving heavy monsoon showers which have triggered flash floods in several parts of the South Asian country
- Kumrat Valley is a popular tourist destination in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has reported 88 rain-related deaths since July 1
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
