News Desk Shirin Nazirmadova, a doctor from southern Tajikistan, has been saving for years to afford the hajj pilgrimage that all able Muslims are required to make once in their lives. But like millions of others, Nazirmadova’s dream journey of a lifetime was shattered when Saudi Arabia decided last month to bar international visitors from making the pilgrimage this year …

blob:https://www.rferl.org/f0105167-7ca9-4487-9108-c8abda861a2b Afghanistan lost $1 million in international funding this year making the drive to halt heroin production in Badakhshan even more challenging Herald Report Afghanistan’s security forces have stepped up their crackdown on heroin labs and poppy farms in Taliban-controlled regions of the country’s northeastern Badakhshan province. Its long border with Tajikistan makes the province one of the main heroin production …

Yamga Wakhani Museum is a treasure trove of artefacts, pottery, musical instruments and various objects invented by or remained in use of the Mubarak Wakhani Farman Ali Mubarakkadam Ibn Abdullo, popularly known as Mubarak Wakhani, was a multi-faceted personality — a philosopher, poet, musician, astronomer, art teacher, and Sufi (mystic) scholar — from Badakhshan, Tajikistan. Born in 1839 in a small village …

Agricultural village in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Christopher Wilton-Steer/UCA Herald Report In Pamir mountains of High Asia region with limited agricultural lands, rugged topography, and large gradients, the preservation of agrobiodiversity and an appreciation of traditional knowledge about food systems are essential ingredients of a sustainable future. Hence the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) has begun …

British colonial officer John Biddulph’s book is considered as one of the pioneering works in English that provided an insight to the secluded societies, lifestyles, languages,  customs, marriages, festivals, ruling families and general characteristics of the many tribes that inhabited the Hindu Kush region Reviewed by Basharat Wakhani Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh written by British colonial officer John Biddulph is considered as one of the …

    M Ajmal K Masood   While travelling to the north, most of the youth make their travelling statuses as ‘mountains are calling’. This phrase is not merely a social media buzzword but resonates the social, cultural and spiritual relations between the people and the mountains. In the primitive age, human being living in mountainous regions such as High …

The case of the Shughni language by Farman Ali The Pamirian languages are spoken by people in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions of Pakistan as well as Xinjiang province of China. The Pamirian Languages — a linguistic term — has been employed even before the advent of the Soviet Union, the first socialist state, by one of the pioneers …

The pandemic causes a 22% decline in tourist arrivals in Q1, or $80bn loss, says UNWTO reports   Herald Report The coronavirus pandemic has caused 22% fall in international tourist arrivals in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2020 and could further drop by 60-80% over the whole year, says a report. The UN tourism watchdog says 67 …

The newly-built Sardoba reservoir breached its wall on May 1 prompting a mass evacuation Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoev meets with evacuees on May 2, 2020. Courtesy: Uzbekistan Presidency Uzbek authorities on Sunday launched a criminal probe after a newly-constructed dam burst, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from both Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kazakhstan. The Sardoba Reservoir in the eastern …

Universities closed. The global death toll is approaching 230,000 with more than 3.2 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions. Tajikistan on Saturday reported first two deaths from the coronavirus. The state television confirmed the deaths and reported that the number of COVID-19 cases had risen to 76 from 44. Around 2,800 people have been quarantined in hospitals, it also said. …

Lawmakers in a move to revive traditional names approve a bill banning identification documents containing Russified surname News Desk DUSHANBE: Tajik lawmakers have approved a bill banning the issuance of new identification documents and birth certificates for ethnic Tajiks containing Russified surnames, the latest attempt to revive traditional names. Justice Minister Muzaffar Ashuryon said after the bill was approved by …

Tajikistan, where around 65 per cent of the population works in agriculture, claims to not have any cases of coronavirus. President Emomali Rahmon urges farmers not to fast in Ramazan citing disease   Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has urged farmers in the predominately Muslim country not to fast during the holy month of Ramadan so they can stay healthy and …

The suspects are said to be members of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group   News Desk Germany has detained five suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group alleged to be planning an attack on US military facilities and an unidentified individual. Prosecutors said four of the suspects — all from Tajikistan — were arrested early on April …

  Police in Kyrgyzstan’s northeastern Naryn province are preparing charges against a man infected with the coronavirus who refused to self-quarantine and as a result, is believed to have spread the virus to at least three other people. The man had returned from Pakistan where he attended a “da’wah”, which is a feature of the controversial Islamic group Tablighi Jamaat. …

  Modern Central Asian regimes remain autocratic, but are they to become hereditary quasi monarchies in the near future? At least the leaders of two countries – Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — seem to be preparing to hand over the power to their sons. How do we investigate political regimes in the region in this context? Did democracy fail in Central Asia? How will …