French tourists accuses army of harassment

“When we reached Lidderweath,our guide made us to camp. Just three or four hours had passed,when the soldiers came and told that we don’t have the permission to set-up the tent here,” said Guy Chanel in his broken English. “They forced us to shift our camp site,five to six kilometers away. They allowed us to set the camp only inside the army compound”.

Guy said that the harassment started soon after they shifted to the new camping site. “The soldiers frequently put flash lights inside our tent,” Guy said. “I had my wife and daughter inside. I didn’t like the way hey intruded into our privacy”.

The visibly perturbed French tourist said that when they left the place,next morning and started to move forward,the soldiers standing at a nearby ridge called his cook,Showkat Ahmad Kawa and guide,Gulzar Ahmad Dhobi. “They asked for my passport,” he said. “They were seven or eight soldiers and each passed my passport to other”.

The sufferings for the French family didn’t end here. As the family reached their final destination of Gangabal,the army once again didn’t allow them to camp there. “The soldiers didn’t allow us to stop there,” Guy said. “They asked us to go back and we had to trek for another eight hours before we were allowed to set-up our tent”.

Guy’s wife,Claire Chanel said that the soldiers were rude to them. “I had hurt my ankle and I was rubbing an ointment on it,” Claire said. “The soldiers told me that I am not allowed to use the ointment. They pointed their guns towards me. I was scared and wept. Only then they left the place”. Daughter,Maud seconded the words of her mother. “It was a torture for me. I was really scared by them”.

The tourists,who had arrived in valley from Montreal on June 26,said that the French embassy had cautioned them against visiting the valley but they still went on when motivated by their travel agent. “It takes us a lot of effort to motivate these tourists to visit valley,” said Farooq Ahmad of Delhi-based India Pick-Up Travel,who had bring these tourists to Kashmir for a trekking expedition. “But when such incidents happen,it gets more difficult for us. The Chief Minister must intervene personally”.

The tourist family said that they will report to French embassy in New Delhi about the harassment they faced from the army in Kashmir valley.

The Director Tourism,Kashmir Farooq Ahmad Shah said that the tourists don’t need any permission for trekking expeditions. “We have received the complaint and we will look into it,” he said. “We will also take up this issue with the concerned authorities”.

The Defence spokesman,Col Uma Maheshwar said they don’t know anything about it. “I can’t comment on it as I have no knowledge of the incident,” he said.