Public Eye: Turmoil hits people of the mountains

Not long ago, Amir Wali was a tourist guide in Pakistan's northern mountainous area. But now he is a waiter at a hotel in the capital city of Islamabad, trying hard to earn a life for himself and his family as the visits of foreign tourists have reduced drastically following September 11.

"I was a guide for tourists since I was 15 in the mountains, but now nobody goes there. My family was battling with hunger so I came here. American bombings in Afghanistan might have brought prosperity to Afghans, but it has brought suffering to us, who live in the mountains," says the 27-year-old Wali, who hails from Gilgit.

"My cousin tried to convince me to stay on and that things would get better once things became normal. But yesterday, he told me over the phone to look for a job for him, he is leaving his work as a guide as well, after this incident" Wali says, referring to the grenade attack on Saturday in which nine foreign tourists - mostly Germans - were injured in North-West Frontier Province.

The Silk Route is a major tourist attraction because of its breathtaking views and historical importance. But as highlighted in the attacks on foreign tourists, the peril lies not only in the heights.

The northern areas of Pakistan including Gilgit, Skardu, Kaghan and Naran are mountainous regions famed for their awe-inspiring beauty. They were a common destination for trekking expeditions and tourists, especially hikers and climbers from all over the world. These form the chain of the world renowned Himalayas, housing peaks such as K 2 and Nanga Parbat, which have proved constant challenges to climbers everywhere.

Like Wali the life of thousands of people living in the northern areas depend on tourism, badly affected in recent months. They worked with the foreign tourist teams as guides, porters and waiters at different motels in their areas. But the recent attacks on foreign interests in Pakistan by suspected extremists have impacted the livelihood and dashed all optimism of these people.

"We have not recovered from September 11th, but now there are attacks against foreigners," says Minister for Sports and Tourism, S.K. Tressler, referring to recent bombings in Karachi and an attack on foreign tourists. There have been several attacks targeting foreigners in Pakistan recently.

"It is a setback," says Tressler. "We are trying to clamp down on militant groups who are trying to destabilise the country and harm the interests of Pakistan."

Officials from Pakistan tourism ministry say that only 10,000 foreign tourists visited Pakistan this year against 500,000 last year.

Pakistan was hoping to attract more tourists from European countries in the wake of violence which erupted in Nepal due to increasing clashes between the Maoist rebels and security forces. Pakistan was the second most favoured destination for mountain climbing after Nepal in South Asia and it was thought that the political turmoil in Nepal would divert more tourists here. But the post-September 11 scenario has brought changes to Pakistan, which is now a key ally to America's war against terror.

"The whole world is observing 2002 as a year of mountains and talks about to bring happiness to people living on mountains. But it is sad that our mountains cannot attract foreigners and people are leaving the mountains to earn a living," says a known Pakistani mountaineer, Nazir Sabir, who arranges expeditions to the mountain peaks.