Mayors of 17 world cities to participate in Dushanbe Navruz festival; over 10,000 people to participate in Nurek show Herald Report Preparations are in full swing across Asia, Middle East and Balkans to celebrate Navruz which heralds the arrival of spring and the first day of the new year of Persian calendar.  Festivities have already kicked off in Hunza, Ghizer, …

Tooba Syed MARCH 8, 2019, will be remembered as a day of hope and unabashed protest, in which thousands of women in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Gilgit-Baltistan and Mardan took to the streets and marched. Aurat March and other women’s marches reflected the collective consciousness of Pakistani women coming together organically and wilfully to march against deeply entrenched social and …

Herald Report Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan authorities have signed agreement to ease tension on the borders of the two Central Asian countries after three days’ negotiation at the Chorkuh village of Khoji Alo Jamoat (municipality). The road that connects the Voruh exclave with the city of Isfara was opened today, after a five-day blockade. The road, previously blocked by the Kyrgyz side, was …

By Shohgulkhon Shahboz TAJIKISTAN: New governor of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast or province (GBAO) has asked the Pamiri expatriates to play a role in the development of the region. Governor Yodgor Fayzov has called upon the Pamiris living abroad to contribute to the efforts of the government in the development of the mountainous region with their knowledge and expertise. “The mountainous region …

Existing snow leopard population assessment studies tend to be conducted in the best habitats and cover areas that are too small to be representative of larger landscapes. This leads to inflated population estimates. BY MATT FIECHTER It’s become something of a truism in snow leopard research: we don’t have much of an idea about how many of these cats there are. …

Four others were injured and 20 affected in clash over construction in disputed area. People gather at the Isfara town of Chokuh municipality on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border where a Tajik teacher was killed and four others injured in skirmish.One Tajik national was killed and at least four others were wounded in a skirmish along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border on Wednesday (March …

RFE/RL As Islamic State’s caliphate crumbles, many countries are turning their backs on children born into the extremist group, except Tajikistan. Dushanbe has been known to take a relatively forgiving approach to the issue. “We’re planning to bring them home,” the country’s ambassador to Iraq and Kuwait, Zubaidullo Zubaidzoda, told RFE/RL. Hundreds of Tajik citizens went to Iraq and Syria …

Awami Action Committee Baltistan chapter to launch movement against GB division, revival of Numbardari system Herald Correspondent SKARDU: The Awami Action Committee Baltistan chapter has opposed division of Gilgit-Baltistan and revival of the numbardari system described it a move to grab public land and resources and to strengthen the bureaucratic system in the disputed mountainous region. “A conspiracy is being …

By Mesum Qasmi Gilgit-Baltistan is known for its serenity and nature but the beauty fails to cloud grievances of its two million inhabitants who have been deprived of their constitutional, democratic and basic human rights for over seven decades now. State tied up the region with Kashmir dispute in anticipation to garner votes if a plebiscite is held on the …

At age 29, he was appointed as mayor of Dushanbe. In 2018, the Tajik Constitution was amended to allow a person as young as 30 to run for president. Now, following claims by a prominent opposition activist that he was recently abducted, tortured, and pressured to support Rustam Emomali in the 2020 presidential election, the 31-year-old son of the country’s …