Anthropologist Tobias Marschall spent 11 months living among nomadic Pamir Kyrgyz herders in the isolated mountain valleys of northeastern Afghanistan between 2015 and 2019. Below is a feature based on his research and field reports. Resettling an entire ethnic group in another country is a monumental task fraught with legal, political, and logistical complications. But that’s what Kyrgyz President Sadyr …

HRCP’s flagship annual report State of Human Rights in 2020 documents widespread human rights violations by HAH Special Correspondent Islamabad: The novel Coronavirus that swept the globe last year infected and killed millions. The pandemic battered economies and social fabric. Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan were no exceptions. The beginning of the pandemic and consequent lockdowns widened social inequalities, increased poverty, domestic …

At least 43 people were killed and thousands evacuated amid border clashes between Kyrgyz and Tajik forces on April 28-29. There have been a series of similar clashes in recent years. Fighting again broke out along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. This time, the intensity of the battles was far worse and more widespread than anything seen before. Photo: RFE/RL Also see: …

Sporadic shooting continued throughout the day on April 30 on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as a clearer picture emerged of the destruction wrought by the worst battle the two Central Asian states have fought since gaining independence.

Covid-19 has shown how much we miss a powerful workers movement.

by Gul Nayab Kaiser Islamabad, April 27: The government has further tightened restriction on travel and tourism and called for compliance with SOPs during religious gatherings and Eid Holidays. A complete ban has been imposed on tourism, inter-provincial and intra-city transport from May 8 to 16 including Eid holidays, a notification issued by the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The …

The uneven development and flawed policies in Pakistan have widened the social and digital inequalities between the urban and rural areas. The current Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequalities affecting the poor and the low-paid jobs the most.

By Sher Zaman It was a chilly morning of March 2021 at the busy Gahkuch Bazaar. The bazaar here opens early at dawn and closes at dusk. Young Hidayatullah* has opened his general store in the heart of the bazaar. He was looking forward to a usual day before he would retire to his shared room with several other traders …

by Zameer Abbas In the spring of 2009, Syed Yahya Shah came to see me, a budding government official, in Gilgit. We were working on his citation for a certain award. Our first meeting panned out to much more than the award recommendation. He talked about sectarianism and the narrow interpretation of Islam for nominal gains by the clergy. Gilgit …

by Aasim Sajjad Akhtar When Mashal Khan was brutally lynched four years ago, the Tehrik-e-Labbaik-Pakistan (TLP) was still a relatively new and unknown force. As we remember Mashal today, the TLP has dramatically become Pakistan’s most powerful Islamist group, with unmatched mobilizational capacity. TLP activists block roads in various cities of Punjab, Sindh and KP to protest the detention of …

Raza Naeem’s tribute to Pakistan’s best-known Marxist, scholar, author and activist on his birth centenary marked on April 10. Stop all the clocks … let the mourners come.— W.H. Auden by Raza Naeem While the world-renowned Marxist sociologist does not need an introduction here in South Asia, my reflections here will chiefly consist of my memories of my lone meeting …

F. Ali Syed Yahya Shah Al-Hussaini, a noted religious scholar, political leader, social reformer, nature conservationist, folklorist and award-winning writer passed away in Gilgit on Sunday, (April 11, 2021) at the age of 85 after a brief illness. He was elected a member of the Gilgit–Baltistan Advisory Council after the abolition of Nagar State in 1975. He was re-elected a …

News Desk UNESCO Director Azoulay stressed that this fundamental human right must be protected every day, especially in the face of new forms of digital exclusion. The United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO) on Friday urged all countries to ratify the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, a multilateral instrument that turns 60 next Monday. The international agency …

Modern audio recording studio and other facilities established in a record two-month time. Songs of legendary artist and singer Jan Ali will be recorded first. High Asia Herald Report Artist and singer Jan ali along with PNCA Director-General inaugurate culture Centre at Sports and Culture Complex, Jutial in Gilgit on Thursday, April 8, 2021. Photo HAH/PNCA Pakistan National Council of …

Imran Mukhtar In a fresh bid to halt illegal logging in the scenic Gilgit-Baltistan region, Pakistan has brought in a paramilitary force to stop organised groups from cutting down trees and transporting them to other parts of the country. The Frontier Constabulary (FC), a civil armed force working under the federal government, was deployed in January to support the GB …