Tourism operations in Punjab’s salt area, Murree and other northern areas have been suspended due to heavy monsoon rain, landslide and an increase in cloudburst events.
Punjab tourist secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar said on Tuesday that climate change has seriously disturbed the tourist sector and caused significant financial losses.
“Both domestic and international tourism has suffered,” he said. “The cable car in Patriata has been closed after one of its pylons collapsed under stormy rain.” For the past two days, tourist activities all over Murree, Kallar Kahar, Chakwal’s lakes and other northern destinations have been at a complete stop.
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“Large numbers of local tourists from Punjab’s plains and Sindh usually travel to these destinations, but all such activities have now come to a standstill,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Anwar emphasized that tourism could not be abandoned. “Tourism cannot be abandoned because of climate change,” he said. “The Punjab government has awarded RS33 billion to new tourist attractions, restoration of cultural heritage and infrastructure upgrades in northern regions.”
He added that Murree, Kallar Kahar and Salt Range were upgraded while Fort Munro was developed into a Prime Hill Station.
Anwar also said that tourist facilities were activated in Rajanpur, Layyah and Multan. “We place special emphasis on promoting desert tourism in South Punjab, especially in Cholistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued an advisory call to citizens to avoid traveling to northern tourist places and to monitor weather conditions before planning.
According to official figures, at least 162 people have lost their lives since June 2025, and hundreds have been injured in monsoon -related events, especially in the salt area and chakwal, where cloudbursts and flash floods have caused widespread destruction.
