The matter of granting provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan involves a contested political process with multifarious implications to the interests of stakeholders

Amir Hussain It might have been a chilly Saturday with clouds of victory hovering over the defence lines of Gilgit Scouts on November 1, 1947. It was a historic day when a legion of local military men of Gilgit Scouts revolted against the Dogra ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). These men in uniform overthrew the …

By Ghulam Amin Beg The old Indian narrative on Jammu and Kashmir of a democratic dispensation, constitutionally guaranteed local autonomy and unique status has disappeared overnight. Thanks to the fascist actions of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government last year. The new status quo in Kashmir has created a new narrative for both pro-Indian and nationalist Kashmiris as well …

General elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) will be held on November 15, according to a summary moved by the government and approved by President Arif Alvi. The notification comes amid a plethora of rumours in power corridors on the constitutional status of the disputed region triggering a debate in mainstream and social media.

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 …

Student’s Solidarity Protest against Poor Internet connectivity & falsified policies of HEC regarding online classes organised by All Baltistan Movement in Skardu.#teamABM Posted by ABM (All Baltistan Movement) on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Students from GB, Kashmir, ex-Fata districts, Seraiki and Balochistan regions demand suspension of online classes, waiver of fees Inayat Abdali, Iqbal Salik & Aunil Muntazir   Gilgit/Ghizer/Skardu/Islamabad: …

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 …

“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 …

By Gul Hammad Farooqi CHITRAL: As the fear of the people of Chitral rises due to the spike in coronavirus cases in the Hindu Kush mountainous region, so does the anxiety of the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) staffers who have not yet been paid their salaries for the last three months. The TMA officials are performing duty in a very …

While Covid-19 has busted the myth of success and efficiency of the market economy and governance with the failing façade of profiteering at the cost of human welfare, people need to raise voice for their basic rights and push the state to improve the education and health systems Muhammad Ali-Musofer The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted and paralysed the social and …

Herald Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Tuesday put on notice the advocate general and government of Gilgit-Baltistan on a petition filed by the Federal government seeking an amendment to the election laws to hold polls in the region. The seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, issued notice to the GB government and its top counsel for Thursday to …

From the National Geographic archives, a look back at the Citroën-Haardt Trans-Asiatic Expedition. By BILL JONES   GEORGES-MARIE HAARDT was one of those latter-day explorers who completed the first journey on wheels across Central Asia. Covering 8,000 miles, the trip’s purpose was to open up the Silk Road to cars. “Across desert wastes and windswept plateaus, over snow-clad mountain passes, …

Azeri Ambassador Ali Alizada addressing a seminar on Together for Peace and Humanity. End to Ethnic and genocide jointly by embassy of Azerbaijan and NUML. Khojaly massacre highlighted at a seminar at NUML to remember the 613 victims killed by Armenian forces on Feb 25-26, 1992   by Gul Nayab   ISLAMABAD: Pakistan affirms its support to the stance of …

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and her party supporters attend a protest march against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and a new citizenship law, in Kolkata, India, December 16, 2019. Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri Fiction in time of fake news. Below is the text of the 2020 Clark Lecture in English Literature instituted by Trinity College, Cambridge. We …

Each family has several hundred goats, all of which need to be moved separately so they don’t get mixed up in the Changthang plateau.–Andrew Newey At an altitude of 5,000 metres (16,400 feet), it is hard to believe anyone, or anything can survive up in the vast ice desert of Changthang region straddling the Tibetan Plateau between India and China, …