Outrage and grief spread across the country on Friday after at least nine tourists, including women and children, drowned in the Swat River.
The incident drew widespread criticism after videos circulated online showing the group stranded on a small patch of land surrounded by rising floodwaters, with no immediate rescue response visible.
According to Rescue 1122, the incident occurred around 8:00am near the riverbank in the Mingora area, where the 18 people had gathered for breakfast. A sudden surge of water, reportedly caused by heavy rainfall upstream, swept through the area, trapping the group.
In a statement, Swat Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Mehboob confirmed that rescue authorities have recovered at least nine bodies and rescued four others alive while efforts were underway to locate the remaining four missing persons.
Citizens, including prominent voices from the media and politics, took to social media to criticise the delay in launching a rescue operation.
One X user wrote that no action had been taken by the district administration.
Rizwan Ghilzai wrote: “They waited for rescue, but no department came.”
“They kept waiting for rescue, but no one came… Eventually, they were swept away in front of everyone,” wrote another netizen.
Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan demanded action against the district administration and said: “The incompetent administration has also turned tourism into a horror. Those who chanted the slogan of “tourism” instead of “terrorism” have turned tourism into terrorism through their incompetence.”
He called for FIRs to be registered against relevant officials.
Journalist Zahid Gishkori said the victims were clearly visible for hours but the government, local commissioner, and police chief failed to act. “The state could have saved these eighteen people today,” he remarked, sharing photos of the stranded group.
An X user accused the provincial government of failing the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, pointing out that if the same incident had occurred in Punjab, it would have drawn immediate national attention and official accountability.
