ISLAMABAD: Pakistan yesterday suspended expeditions on its second-highest peak and evacuated climbers after gunmen shot dead 10 foreign trekkers, braced for the collapse of its tiny tourist industry.
Attackers dressed in police uniforms stormed a base camp at the foot of Nanga Parbat late Saturday, shooting dead the climbers and a Pakistani guide at point-blank range, officials said.
The victims have been identified as an American with dual Chinese citizenship, three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two others from China, a Lithuanian and a climber from Nepal.
Pakistan’s umbrella Taleban movement claimed responsibility, saying it had set up a new faction, Junood ul-Hifsa, to kill foreigners to avenge US drone strikes on Taleban and Al-Qaeda operatives.
It was the worst attack on foreigners for a decade in Pakistan and an unprecedented attack on mountaineers drawn to the intrepid climbing of the north, which until Saturday’s shootings was considered immune from militancy plaguing other areas.
It is a major blow to foreign trekking expeditions, which provide the last vestige of international tourism in a country where Islamist militants have killed thousand of people in recent years.
Naiknam Karim, general secretary of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators, said the killings were a “disaster” for Gilgit-Baltistan, where tourism is the main source of income.
“It will destroy tourism in our area,” he said, saying that he had already received a slew of cancelations by e-mail and telephone.
Before the 9/11 attacks, more than 20,000 foreign tourists, climbers and trekkers used to visit Gilgit-Baltistan each year, but the number has since fallen to around 5,000, he said.
The Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States were followed by in war in neighboring Afghanistan, a series of backlash attacks in Pakistan and since 2007, Pakistan’s own domestic Taleban insurgency.
An average non-trekking tourist spends $ 3,000 in the area of stunning natural beauty, but trekkers sink $ 8-10,000 into the local economy, staying for longer as well as hiring guides and porters, Karim said.
“We used to be able to convince foreign tourists that there was peace in Gilgit-Baltistan but this incident has ruined everything,” he said.
“It will also badly affect domestic tourism... The Pakistani government has to take steps to re-build the trust otherwise this last industry will be ruined,” he added.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan said around 40 remaining climbers on Nanga Parbat have been airlifted to the city of Gilgit with the peak now unsafe for trekkers.
“We are really shocked, traumatized and full of anger. Pakistan is known among the mountaineering community. It was a brutal massacre. These people were killed for no reason,” said club president Manzoor Hussain.
He said there would be no further expeditions on Nanga Parbat this summer and that requests for winter climbs would be subject to a security review.
“This season is over,” Hussain said.
Although expeditions on other peaks higher than 8,000 meters, including K2 — the world’s second highest mountain — had not been suspended as the army was in those areas, he said.
Sultan Khan, the manager of a group that organizes expeditions for foreign mountaineers and whose boss Nazir Sabir climbed Everest in 2000, said the killings spelt death for businesses such as his.
“Tourist traffic had already slowed down after the 9/11 attacks. We were barely surviving. This incident will ruin our industry,” Khan said.
“Pakistan was earning a huge amount from mountaineering teams and the financial losses will run into millions of dollars if teams stop coming to Pakistan,” warned Khan.
Hussain said the attack was well-planned, carried out by well-equipped and well-trained people familiar with the harsh terrain, with suspected local involvement.
“It took place at 4,200 meters. It has to be the work of well-trained people. It takes two to three days to reach (the camp). The body needs to acclimatize for climbing up. How they went undetected is a big question.”
The bodies of the dead tourists were on Sunday flown to Islamabad from where they will be repatriated.
Police say a massive search operation is under way to track down the suspects.
“The military, police, law enforcement agencies are all involved. The terrain is tough. Four helicopters are also combing the suspected areas,” police official Mohammed Naveed said from the district of Diamer.
Karim said no one in the tourist industry was satisfied with the police operation, doubting that the culprits would be caught.
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tourists
Pakistan faces blow to tourism after 10 climbers killed
Pakistan faces blow to tourism after 10 climbers killed
Mass drone attack kills three, injures at least 30 in Ukraine’s Dnipro, governor says
- Pictures posted online showed a large blaze and firefighters working at the scene well into the night
Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that 30 people had been injured, including five children. Sixteen people were being treated in hospital.
The attack triggered several fires.
Mayor Borys Filatov said one strike came within 100 meters (110 yards) of the municipal offices. He also said at least 15 dwellings had been damaged, as well as a student residence, an educational institution and a food processing plant.
Pictures posted online showed a large blaze and firefighters working at the scene well into the night, as well as gutted vehicles and buildings with smashed windows and damaged facades.
In northeastern Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said a Russian missile attack injured two people in the town of Izium. The town was captured by Russian troops in the early days of the February 2022 invasion, but was retaken by Ukrainian forces later in the year.
Colombia declares health emergency due to yellow fever cases, deaths
- The outbreak has resulted in 74 confirmed cases and 34 deaths since the start of last year
- Most critical situation is in Tolima, in central-west Colombia, where 22 cases have been detected
BOGOTA: The Colombian government declared a nationwide health emergency late on Wednesday due to an increase in yellow fever cases.
The outbreak has resulted in 74 confirmed cases and 34 deaths since the start of last year, said Health Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes.
Jaramillo said the most critical situation is in Tolima, in central-west Colombia, where 22 cases have been detected.
Myanmar junta says to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
- Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup
- Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals
YANGON: Myanmar’s military government said Thursday it will release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country’s new year festivities.
Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup cut short Myanmar’s experiment with democracy and plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war.
Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals, but most high-profile political prisoners including deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remain detained.
A junta statement said 4,893 prisoners will be pardoned “to participate in the state-building process, for peace of mind of people and on compassionate grounds.”
To convey the “loving kindness of the state,” the junta also said other prisoners would have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those who had committed serious offenses.
The offenses include unlawful association and terrorism, as well as murder and rape.
The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes.
Early on Thursday morning an AFP journalist saw crowds of families gathered outside Yangon’s Insein prison, prepared to meet those freed.
The amnesty announcement was made as junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly due to make a rare foreign trip to Bangkok to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the 10-country ASEAN bloc this year.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has in the past barred junta officials from its summits over lack of progress on a peace plan.
But Anwar said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian humanitarian teams dispatched to Myanmar following last month’s magnitude-7.7 earthquake.
The junta has not confirmed the meeting.
Myanmar’s ongoing “Thingyan” water festival typically marks the country’s new year with water-splashing rituals representing cleansing and renewal.
But celebrations have been muted following the March 28 tremor in the country’s central belt, which has killed 3,725 according to the latest official toll.
China says it will ignore US threats to raise tariffs up to 245%
- Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed “our money”
BEIJING: China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the “tariff numbers game,” China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245 percent due to its retaliatory actions.
In a fact sheet released on Tuesday, the White House said China’s total duties include the latest reciprocal tariff of 125 percent, a 20 percent tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and tariffs of between 7.5 percent and 100 percent on specific goods to address unfair trade practices.
US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on all countries two weeks ago, before suddenly rolling back higher “reciprocal tariffs” for dozens of countries while keeping punishing duties on China.
Beijing raised its own levies on US goods in response and has not sought talks, which it says can only be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality. Meanwhile, many other nations have begun looking at bilateral deals with Washington.
Last week, China also filed a new complaint with the World Trade Organization expressing “grave concern” over US tariffs, accusing Washington of violating the global trade body’s rules.
China this week unexpectedly appointed a new trade negotiator who would be key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff war, replacing trade tsar Wang Shouwen with Li Chenggang, its envoy to the WTO.
Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed “our money.”
Trump administration stops work on Biden-approved New York offshore wind project
- Expected to start producing power in 2027, the project a key part of New York state’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered a halt to construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, saying information suggested the Biden administration approved it without enough environmental analysis.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Burgum said the information would be reviewed further but did not elaborate on the faults identified.
The sudden order marks a major blow to Norway’s Equinor and the nascent US offshore wind industry, which enjoyed substantial support as a part of former President Joe Biden’s plan to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.
An Equinor spokesperson said the company had received the stop-work order from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Interior arm that permits offshore energy projects.
“We will engage directly with BOEM and the Department of Interior to understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from authorities,” Equinor said. “We will not comment about the potential consequences until we know more.”
Burgum said he had consulted with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the decision. Commerce houses the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is involved in permitting offshore wind facilities.
The Interior Department decision stems from a review of offshore wind permitting and leasing that President Donald Trump ordered on his first day back in the Oval Office in January. Interior officials did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Since the January order, the offshore wind industry has sought to position itself as being aligned with Trump’s domestic energy agenda. Trade groups reacted with disappointment following Burgum’s announcement.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said in a statement.
“With skyrocketing energy demand and increasing consumer prices, we need streamlined permitting for all domestic energy resources. Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment,” Grumet added.
Empire Wind was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction last year.
The lease area, which will house two projects, is located 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of Long Island, New York. The facilities together are expected to generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes a year.
The project was expected to start producing power in 2027. It is a key part of New York state’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the project was already contributing to the state’s economy and creating hundreds of jobs.
“This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground before the President’s executive orders — it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on,” Hochul said in a statement.
“As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.”
Burgum’s questions about the permitting of Equinor’s project come even as the Trump administration has moved to speed up environmental reviews and fast-track approvals for other projects under a declaration of a national energy emergency.
