By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar It has been a month since the so-called unity government came to power. It still seems to be labouring under the illusion that formulating a coherent programme to serve the needs of Pakistanis is rocket science. In fact, it is quite straightforward. For those in government that are committed to doing something substantial, I offer this …

Riaz Akbar spells out a comprehensive youth-led development roadmap for Gilgit-Baltistan, outlining four areas that can kick-start GB’s economy and increase the whole pie of the budget.

Local people say they will not vacate their ancestral land without a settlement plan or resettlement by Punjab government; They demand increase in compensation rate for their land. Rawalpindi: Affected people of Dadhocha dam organised a public meeting and peaceful protest march here on Sunday against forced displacement without rehabilitation, seeking a substantial increase in compensation rate for their lands …

The $75m-project will facilitate trade, travel between the two countries. The key infrastructure was started in 2007 with Iranian assistance. Iran and Afghanistan on Thursday inaugurated the first railway link between the two countries. Presidents of the two countries expressed hope it would enhance trade links across the region. The 140-kilometre (90-mile) line running from eastern Iran into western Afghanistan …

High Asia Report GILGIT:  An accountability court on Tuesday accepted the application of Shah Salim Khan, a former member of Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for bargain to pay Rs51 million he had embezzled in Sost Dry Port scam. Justice Khurshid Ahmed of the Accountability Court Gilgit approved the plea bargain on the recommendation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regional office. The …

Mushtaq Ahmad There is a long history of global pandemic and epidemics, but there is also evidence that all these have been challenged by man. Consequently, there have been great losses of human lives coupled with social and economic vicissitudes as well. At the same time, every major crisis brings opportunities to rethink our systems and make them stronger to future …

Global community unites to celebrate “tourism and rural development” High Asia Herald Report Summer holidays used to be the peak season in Gilgit-Baltistan. file photo The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”, celebrates the unique role that tourism plays in providing opportunities outside of big cities and preserving cultural and natural heritage all …

Covid-19 has exposed the myth of neoliberal free-market economic model Herald Report The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is at breaking point, and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the free market and deep divisions in society, calling for a new global deal to combat climate change, forced migration, diseases, patriarchy and racism. Inequality, an issue …

By Wajidul Islam   The National Finance Commission (NFC) is a resource-sharing mechanism between the federal government and federating units. It was constituted under Article 160(1) of the 1973 Constitution. It is mandatory to constitute and hold the NFC meeting in every five consecutive years. The purpose of the award is to review the collection of revenues by the Centre …

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 …

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 …

    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 …

A comparative study of farming sectors of China and Pakistan   By Samiullah Najeeb   Agriculture is the most sensitive sector to climate change. The impacts of climate change and abnormal events such as rise in temperatures, extreme weather, drought, levels of carbon dioxide and sea result in a decrease in the quantity and the quality of food supplies. Climate …

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 …

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky …