“Teaching is a political process. It must be a democratic process to avoid teaching authority dependence. The teacher must learn about (and from) the student so that knowledge can be constructed in ways that are meaningful to the student. The teachers must become learners and the learners must become teachers. Teachers must have humility, coupled with love and respect for …

Amir Hussain Nihal There are fairies, demons, witches and flying saucers in the valleys surrounded by the gigantic mountains and snowy peaks of Hunza. This is how grandmothers used to narrate stories to their grandchildren in Hunza valley not very long ago. But this practice has now slowly faded, leaving an unquenchable thirst in the inquisitive mind to explore the …

Aziz Ali Dad Gilgit-Baltistan has historically remained at the peripheries of the power centres of Central Asia and South Asia. This relative isolation enabled local communities to develop indigenous social, state and economic structures that allowed small principalities to remain autonomous in decision-making. Despite its political marginality and geographic inaccessibility, GB managed to develop trade routes with Central Asia and …

Fakhra Muneeb   Climate change has become the biggest challenge for the world. But the populated South Asia countries such as Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, are the worst-hit by climate change effects. Scientists and researchers have warned that if greenhouse gases keep increasing, temperatures will exceed habitable levels by the end of this century. According to researchers, 4% of the population …

Aziz Ali Dad The culture of Gilgit-Baltistan has evolved over the centuries within a mental framework or worldview that is unique to the region. Likewise, the economy, literature, society, music and architecture of the region have a close relationship with the indigenous worldview. Within the traditional social setup, cultural knowledge is transmitted through institutions, personalities, rituals and activities that are …

Amir Hussain Terms such as ‘the environment’ and ‘climate change’ are used interchangeably in development parlance and policy discourses in Pakistan. However, both terms denote entirely different concepts, not only as subject matters of scientific inquiry but also in terms of their implications as development challenges and as components of the social policy. Climate change is about anthropogenic or human-induced …

Waseem Altaf In the 1980s, the Ziaul Haq-appointed Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) passed a resolution claiming that Asma Jahangir had blasphemed and she should be sentenced to death. However, she was found not guilty of blasphemy. But it was Salamat Masih, a 14-year-old Christian boy, accused of blasphemy, whom Asma defended at the High Court and winning the case in 1995. As …

The Interpreter By MAX FISHER and AMANDA TAUB  Pakistan’s latest ouster of an elected leader looks, at least on the surface, refreshingly democratic. Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, was ordered out by the Supreme Court rather than the military, which had cut short his two previous terms. He was removed over corruption charges that are backed up by substantial evidence. Accountability and …

ISLAMABAD, July 29: The ousting of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has left a power vacuum at the top of the nuclear-armed country, yet experts say that in the long run it i, unlikely to be destabilising. Nawaz’s disqualification Friday by the Supreme Court over corruption allegations denies him the chance of becoming the country’s first prime minister to complete a …

By Nadia Ali Home to around one hundred and seven households, Hussaini is a small but beautiful village along Hunza River, surrounded by tall, robust mountains in the valley of Gojal in Upper Hunza. One of the most striking things about this breath-taking village is the foot bridge that welcomes one on the way. This bridge is made up of …

By Shahid Kardar Common sense would suggest that investments under the CPEC banner present an enviable opportunity for our economy to jump onto a significantly higher growth path on a sustainable basis. Is this logic and the envisaged gains valid allowing for the terms and conditions governing these ventures and the capability of Pakistan’s economy to exploit its potential? The principal constraint in …

For thousands of years, Central Asia has served as a nexus between the world’s great powers. Goods and ideas have flowed across the region since ancient times, connecting China, Europe and the Middle East and giving rise to countless trade hubs, from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan’s Almaty. In the 19th century, the British and Russian empires vied for …

Sectarian differences were politicised in Gilgit-Baltistan for the first time in the election of the erstwhile Northern Areas Council in 1988. The election in 1988 in the constituency of Gilgit-1 was contested between Wajahat Hassan Khan and Sumbul Shah. The former was a Shia and son of Colonel Mirza Hassan Khan – one of the heroes of the war for …

Aziz Ali Dad An important development during General Ziaul Haq’s period was the opening of the Karakoram Highway in 1979. The route connects Gilgit-Baltistan with western China and the rest of Pakistan. It has exposed the hitherto relatively isolated region of Gilgit-Baltistan to exogenous lifestyles, market forces and ideas. The interface between Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan is crucial …

Aziz Ali Dad Though there was no serious confrontation between different sects in Gilgit-Baltistan during the British period, there were latent sectarian prejudices among the populace. Colonel John Biddulph in his book ‘Tribes of the Hindoo Kush” recorded some practices and attitudes among Sunni and Shia communities that showed increasing dislike for each other among normally moderate people in matters …