(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - 'Some tourists, mostly foreigners, are seen wandering in short mini-skirts and other objectionable dresses openly which is against local ethos and culture.'
'This is not acceptable to civil society at all,' the Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation, said yesterday in a statement in Srinagar.
The Kashmir Valley is witnessing a surge in tourist arrivals over the last two years.
Nearly 15 lakh tourists arrived here last year and over five lakh tourists have visited the Valley this year so far.
Jamaat asked the state Tourism Department to 'impress on tourists to honour local ethos.'
'It is the duty of the department officials to impress on tourists to honour local ethos failing which they can even force an angry reaction,' it said.
The Jamaat said the guests were 'supposed to respect sentiments of the host.'
It said 'for simple monetary benefits, no nation can compromise on its morality and obligatory customs and as such endanger its future generation.'
'We need no such guests who can become a cause of derailing society from the right track and spread immorality and immodesty in the name of tourism,' the Jamaat said.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir's tourism industry today questioned the motives of Jamaat-e-Islami's dress code diktat at a time when tourism is at its peak in the state, even as the official machinery remained tightlipped over the issue.
'Jamaat-e-Islami being a responsible organisation should have held a debate with the stakeholders in the tourism industry on the issue before going public,' Kashmir Tourism and Restaurant Association president Siraj Ahmad said.
Echoing his views, Bashir Ahmad, a taxi driver, said, 'It is an ill-conceived and totally ill-timed move. It has the potential to harm the tourism industry, which had shown encouraging signs over the past couple of years in the state.'
'There is an unprecedented tourist rush in the Valley...We hope it (the statement) does not affect our livelihood...It can scare the tourists away,' he said.
Meanwhile, Kashmir Tourism Director Talat Parvaiz said the issue was very sensitive and beyond his jurisdiction to comment upon.
'It is a very sensitive issue and I am not in a position to comment on it,' Parvaiz said.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who usually tweets on such issues, has so far not commented on the matter.
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