On Monday, PM Imran said: “I think that tourism should open now because tourism provides jobs to many in Gilgit-Baltistan and elsewhere. My appeal to you is please be a responsible nation because we have to prevent the spread of virus and also avoid poverty and misery.”
Following the prime minister’s decision, Seema Alkarimi, a tourism entrepreneur based in Hunza took to Twitter to inform people about the repercussions of the decision. “The remark to reopen the tourism industry by the PM is extremely ignorant and absurd. And I say this as someone working in the tourism industry. Putting communities with no healthcare facilities at risk should be a violation of Human rights,” she said.
The entrepreneur said that as a resident of Hunza, she knows the reality of both the public and private health care facilities in the region, and the struggle the community has been going through to avoid any coronavirus cases in the past two months.
“We can survive very well with the travel bans but won't survive a day without the ban. No one is dying hungry. People have more than enough to cultivate and feed their families. We will survive this pandemic, but let us survive. Don't impose inhumane policies on a community with no health care facilities,” Seema added.
The entrepreneur said that removing the travel ban will cause a disaster in Hunza as there are not enough health care facilities in the region. In the end, she urged the news channels to cover this issue and stop the reopening of tourist spots in Hunza.