Attabad | Pakistan

RECENT photos and videos of the Attabad Lake in Gilgit-Baltistan seem to show that the size of the water body has shrunken considerably. But the phenomenon at play here is not a drying-up of the lake, rather heavy silt and sedimentation encroaching on the lake bed, according to an iVerify fact check published on Friday. Known as GB’s “crown jewel” and a major tourist attraction, the lake was formed after the Attabad village in the Gojal Valley witnessed a major landslide on January 4, 2010. Recent visuals of the lake have had netizens talking, showing large parts of its once-turquoise waters replaced by dry, exposed land. Many raised concerns over a “visible decline in water levels”, linking it to environmental degradation, while other argued that the apparent drying was a usual phenomenon. Jamil Nagri, Dawn’s correspondent in Gilgit, confirmed the authenticity of the visuals circulating on social media. But the size of the lake, which is not a natural water body, rather a landslide-dammed reservoir, is susce...