Digital Rights Movement Gilgit-Baltistan unveils 13-point Charter of Demands seeking an end to the monopoly of SCO, amendment to Pakistan Telecommunication Reorganization Act  Students trying to catch signal at a vantage point on a hillock at Gulmit, Gojal Sub-Division of Hunza to attend online classes. Photo: Ali Ahmed Herald Report The youth-led digital rights movement that was born out of …

32 students hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan are stranded in China waiting for repatriation for the last three months Herald Special Islamabad: Scores of students hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan are stranded in China due to non-availability of flights and closure of Khunjerav border. They have been notified by their universities and dormitories to leave the host country by July 20. Over 30 students …

By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar THERE are many in our land that falls into the category of what anti-colonial freedom fighter Frantz Fanon called “the wretched of the earth”, such as the cauldron of injustice and tyranny that is contemporary Pakistan. The almost daily tribulations faced by the diverse group of confessional groups officially known as ‘religious minorities’ are second to …

Pakistan needs a radical strategic shift on multiple fronts – ranging from improving outreach to the quality of learning outcomes Amir Hussain Primary education is the first stage of free and compulsory education in Pakistan that entails the initial five grades of formal education for children of 5 to 9 years of age. There are four types of primary schools …

Youngsters start #Internet4GilgitBaltistan campaign; pictures of students sitting on mountaintops with books and laptops highlight issue, reports Gulf News Herald Report A campaign for digital rights #Internet4GilgitBaltistan, launched by a group of techno-savvy student and social media activists last week continues to attract international media attention. Gulf News on Thursday published a report on the telecom crisis. However, the telecom service provider and …

A new reliance on virtual life in the COVID-19 era has laid bare the lack of internet access for much of the country, write Shah Meer Baloch and Zafar Musyani in The Diplomat In a widely shared video posted to social media, more than half a dozen Pakistani police personnel are seen running after a girl and screaming, “Catch her! Catch her!” …

The government seems more interested in keeping the military content than providing support for struggling citizens by Ayesha Siddiqa The Pakistani government does not seem willing to shift its spending priorities despite the burgeoning COVID-19 challenges.  Pakistan has emerged as one of the countries with the fastest rate of coronavirus infections in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization …

  Most people who know Noam Chomsky know him equally as a giant in academic linguistics and a longtime Leftist dissident and political commentator. Only a committed few, however, read much of his work in either — or both — fields. He is one of those thinkers whose major concepts enter the discourse unmoored from their original context. Phrases like “universal grammar” …

Herald Report Islamabad: A digital rights watchdog has expressed concern at the difficulties being faced by students in attending online classes due to lack of Internet facilities in the rural area of Pakistan and mountainous regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. The organisation has urged the government to provide an appropriate recourse for the students who are unable to access e-learning modules during …

Fayes T Kantawala on the link between crushing dissent and producing subpar leaders for policy-making   It’s perversely comforting to know that in the middle of a global pandemic, the largest financial crash in history and a worldwide cultural tipping point, Pakistan still thinks thinkers are its biggest problem. Professor Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy taught physics at Forman Christian College (FCC) …