Chilas | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications Aleem Khan on Tuesday approved the construction of a new, state-of-the-art motorway via Mansehra, Kaghan, Naran, Jhal Khand, and Chilas (MNJC) to provide a safe alternative route to the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The decision was taken in a meeting of the National Highway Authority (NHA) held under the chairmanship of the minister, where key decisions were approved to modernise the country’s transport infrastructure. The secretary of communications and NHA Chairman Capt (retd) Asadullah Khan were also present. During the meeting, the federal minister was briefed on ongoing and new projects. Officials told the meeting that the MNJC motorway would be 172km in length, and that the route would reduce travel distance on the KKH by up to 120 kilometres. The project will be completed in two phases, the minister said. In the first phase, the motorway will be built from Mansehra to Kaghan, Naran, and Babusar Top, while the second phase will cover the section from Babusar To...

A crew of five died on Monday after an army helicopter crashed in Diamer District’s Chilas town in Gilgit-Baltistan after developing a “technical fault”, the military’s media wing said in a statement. “On 1 Sep 25, at around 1000 hours, an MI-17 helicopter crash landed near Hudor village, approximately 12 kilometres away from Thakdas Cantonment,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement. “The helicopter was on routine training flying when it developed a technical fault and crashed.” It added that all crew members on board were martyred as a result of the crash. The crew members were identified as Major Atif, who was the pilot in command, Major Faisal, the co-pilot, flight engineer Naib Subedar Maqbool, and crew chiefs Havaldar Jahangir and Naik Amir, according to the ISPR. Earlier, Diamer Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Hameed, in a statement, had confirmed the incident, saying that the helicopter was conducting a test landing on a newly proposed helipad when it crashed. He...

A government helicopter belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) crashed near Chilas on Monday, killing all five people on board.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday reported that new extreme maximum temperature records were set in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chilas and Bunji areas, according to a press release. The country is currently experiencing high summer temperatures, with the PMD reporting in June that ‘Feels Like’ temperatures crossed 50 degrees Celsius in four cities. According to today’s press release, both cities recorded extreme temperatures that shattered previous records. The PMD recorded a maximum temperature of 48.5°C in Chilas today, breaking the previous historical extreme maximum record of 47.7°C on July 17, 1997. Meanwhile, the temperature recorded in Bunji was 46.1°C. The previous historical extreme maximum record was 45.6°C on July 12, 1971. “These persistent high temperatures over northern areas may accelerate snow and glacier melt, triggering Glof (glacial lake outburst flood) and flash floods incidents, in vulnerable valleys and surrounding regions during upcoming week,” the PMD warned, citing a war...