Islamabad: The new Azad Pattan-Rawalakot Highway has been opened, a news source reported. The highway links Poonch, Haveli, and Kotli and is a direct route between 10 districts of the region. It is the first of three tourism corridors planned in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
An increase in tourism is expected as a result of the construction of the road. According to AJK Planning and Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Dr Syed Asif Hussain the corridor starts from Muzaffarabad up to Devi Gali in Tarrarkhal. The first corridor is in the Jhelum Valley and Poonch, the second in the Neelum Valley, and the third in Kotli-Mirpur.
Water tourism facilities are being planned in the south, winter activities in the north, and summer tourism and ice-skating facilities in Neelum’s Baan Valley have been planned. Giving an example of a similar successful project, he said that after Neelum Road was constructed, the number of tourists in Neelum Valley rose to 1.5 million last year.
