The members of the Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination, headed by Farah Aqil of the Awami National Party (ANP), received a letter from the Swat deputy commissioner, asking them not to undertake the planned visit to Mingora and Saidu Sharif because of security concerns.
The advice appears to be surprising against the backdrop of frequent claims by the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments and the army that the situation in Swat has returned to normality and tourists have begun visiting the valley.
Swat remained under the control of Taliban for a brief period during the regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf and was cleared by the army through an operation in 2009.
Four women senators are part of the 12-member committee which was to visit the area where education activist Malala Yousufzai was attacked by militants on Oct 9 last year.
Talking to Dawn, Ms Aqil expressed her anger over the move by the authorities to stop the senators from visiting the valley.
“It is unfortunate that we have been stopped from visiting Swat.”
She said that besides provincial authorities, officials of the inter-provincial coordination ministry had also discouraged them from undertaking the visit.
The ANP senator said she had unwillingly cancelled the visit because she could not take any risk after receiving a written advice from the deputy commissioner.
She vowed that she would make efforts to arrange the visit as early as possible.
The committee was scheduled to have a meeting at the office of the deputy commissioner in Mingora on Tuesday morning and to visit the Maraghzar White Palace in Saidu Sharif on Wednesday.
The members planned “to review the process of devolution of Malam Jabba Resort” and the steps being taken by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) for the “reconstruction, repair and functioning” of the resort, the only skiing facility in the country.
They had to receive a briefing on the performance of the PTDC and its efforts to promote tourism, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The ministry had been asked to make arrangements for the stay in Mingora and travel of the members.
Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Riaz Pirzada could not be contacted for comments.
