Snowfall, heavy rains bring life to a standstill in Balochistan, KP, GB.

Islamabad: Life in many areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has come to a standstill as Siberian winds wreaked havoc whereas various cities in Punjab also witnessed torrential downpour on Monday.

A number of houses caved in due to heavy rain in Quetta, whereas an avalanche in Neelum Valley buried four students out of which one died and three were later rescued. Quetta-Ziarat National Highway was closed for traffic due to the second spell of snowfall. More than two feet of snow has fallen as of now. The Quetta-Karachi highway is also closed at Mastung due to snowfall, causing hundreds of travellers to get stuck.

Deputy Commissioner Killa Saifullah said public transport has been stopped from going into snow-affected areas. Heavy rain and snowfall has paralysed life in seven districts of Balochistan as the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) declared imposition of emergency in Mastung, Killa Abdullah, Kech, Ziarat, Harnai, and Pishin districts. Rain and snowfall continued in parts of KP, including Peshawar, Hazara and Malakand divisions, Kohat, Orakzai and Chitral. All routes to Chitral including Lowari Tunnel were blocked whereas electricity supply has also been disrupted. The local administration has warned residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to stay alert.

A landslide near Dasu, Kohistan, caused authorities to block the Karakoram Highway for all kinds of traffic on Monday, Radio Pakistan...