The Taliban are becoming increasingly intolerant of public expressions and displays of the Shi’ite religious faith,” said Niamatullah Ibrahimi, senior lecturer at Australia’s La Trobe University.

Enforced disappearances has become pervasive in Pakistan. The use of enforced disappearances as a tool by security agencies to silence dissent, particularly political activists, journalists, students, and even children in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh provinces has increased alarmingly.

Rugged terrain of the region amplifies gender disparity in work. According to the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019-20, the labor force participation rate for women in Gilgit-Baltistan was only 18%, significantly lower than the rate for men, which was 65%. This disparity is also evident in the education sector where the literacy rate for women in Gilgit-Baltistan is only 31%, compared to 58% for men.

By Our correspondent Speaker of an event organised in connection with International Women’s Day highlighted the role of women in building strong communities and creating a better future for all. The event titled “Empowering Women, Empowering Communities” was jointly held by the Women Rights Movement GB and Ciqam – Green Solutions Pvt Ltd to celebrate the strength, resilience, and contribution …

By Hassan Abbas On Sept 19, 1960, a treaty was signed between India and Pakistan on water sharing. The decis­i­ons taken effectively meant that the three rivers of the Indus River basin — each rivalling the size of the Colorado River — would not be allowed to follow their natural courses. This was unprecedented. Since the dawn of the Industrial …

Author of surprise hit Capital in the Anthropocene has developed his arguments in a new study of Karl Marx’s ecological thinking. By Maya Goodfellow When academic Kohei Saito submitted his manuscript on Karl Marx, the ecological crisis and arguments for degrowth economics, he hoped it might introduce at least some people in Japan to a new perspective on the climate …

From who is most affected to who gets to be in the room when decisions are made, gender affects every aspect of our relationship with climate change. By Rina Saeed Khan Gender imbues every aspect of our relationship with climate change, especially in the South Asian region. Deep-rooted gender inequality can leave many women in South Asia more vulnerable to …

By Dr Naazir Mahmood The Indus Cultural Forum (ICF) has been organizing the Pakistan Mother Languages Literature (PMLL) Festival in Islamabad for the last eight years. It coincides with the International Mother Language Day the world observes annually on February 21. In 1999, Unesco introduced this day to raise awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and promote multilingualism; and the …

By News desk Investigative journalist Umar Cheema has claimed that the storm of audio leaks does not seem to be abating as there is a threat of more coming in the next few days. Commenting on the suo moto notice taken by the supreme court over the delay in Punjab and KP by-polls, Umar quoted SC judges Justice Mansoor Ali …

By Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar        THE IMF issues commandments, and our finance czars comply. The most recent iteration of this merry-go-round saw the government going through the motions of farcical parliamentary legislation to levy yet more indirect taxes on a helpless populace. No need to whisper it: this is a banana republic. Debate over whether the khakis, bureaucrats, the …

By S. Amjad Hussain I was going to write about the happenings in this northwestern corner of Pakistan in the foothills of Khyber Pass, but the death of a dear friend in Karachi pre-empted my plans. Today, the entire country of Pakistan, the Urdu speaking Indians, and the Urdu Diaspora around the world are mourning the passing of Zia Mohyeddin, …

By Aamir Hussain Nihal The recent horrific road crash on the Karakorum Highway (KKH) which resulted in the death of over 20 passengers and injuries to many others, serves as a grim reminder of the gross disregard for road safety and security standards and negligence on the part of the relevant authorities. The head on collision between a Rawalpindi-bound passenger …

By Our Special Correspondent The leadership of Awami Action Committee Gilgit-Baltistan (AACGB) – a conglomerate of half a dozen progressive and nationalist parties – has expressed outrage at the unbridled capture of land, pillage of natural resources of the mountainous region, imposition of illegal taxes on the locals, cut in wheat quota and withdrawal of subsidy on the essential commodity …

By Amir Hussain Gilgit-Baltistan is grappling with a severe energy deficit, which has far-reaching ramifications for its economic and societal progress. From a common perspective, the cause of this energy crisis is rooted in technical deficiencies, including insufficient power generation and transmission infrastructure, as well as inadequate utilization of available energy sources. The scarcity of indigenous fossil fuel reserves exacerbates …

Pop singer and songwriter Hasan Raheem -- hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan -- has become the first featured artist in Spotify’s documentary in Pakistan.