News Desk Manizha’s family came to Russia after fleeing civil war in Tajikistan, and now she will represent her adopted country at the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Also see: https://www.rferl.org/embed/player/0/31144071.html?type=video Manizha’s unlikely journey to the finals in Rotterdam has also included social activism and a role as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. RFE/RL’s Tajik Service

Only 0.35m tourists visited the Central Asian country last year as compared to 1.25m in the previous year, says an official News Desk Coronavirus pandemic hit the global tourism sector hard in 2020, proving to be the worst year in tourism history with 1 billion fewer international arrivals, says the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNETO). The direct contribution of …

A research paper published recently by Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI), University of Central Asia, highlights social, economic, and environmental impacts of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which follows ancient Silk Road corridors. Even short-term economic benefits promised by China carry huge risks of debt dependency, forfeiture of mining and land rights, natural resource exploitation, disruption of traditional …

Dr Lara Karasik Gahvora (cradle) is the oldest device which has been used by families for centuries in High Asia and Central Asia regions for containing and cradling of babies. It is still preserved in Badakhshan, Pamirs, Kashgar, Srikol, Hunza, Ghizer and Broghel, Chitral for newborn babies rearing. It is noteworthy that even among modern families in cities, you easily …

PEMA GYAMTSHO Mountains are a barometer of the planet’s health – changes in these lofty parts of the world dictate how rivers flow and crops grow and livelihoods endure elsewhere. And yet, global recognition of these vital regions has been rather underwhelming, in contrast, to say the Amazon or the polar regions. International Mountain Day (IMD), celebrated on this very day …

The top-down conservation policies are meant to dispossess people of their land, livelihood and resources By Ali Rehmat The conservation, environment and development policies and strategies in Pakistan have remained problematic both for the government and the communities living in the protected areas. At times the implementation of the government’s top-down exclusionary policies have met resistance from communities. In the …

by Aziz Ali Dad Let me start this review of the book “Hunza Matters: Bordering and ordering between ancient and new Silk Roads” by indulging in subjectivity. In 2015, I was a Crossroads Asia fellow at Modern Oriental Institute in Berlin, Germany. As a part of socialization, we interacted with different researchers and members of academia. On one weekend my …

By Ashiq Ali Broghil, the most neglected valley in Hindu Kush Mountains, need government attention The Pamiri Wakhi people live in the remotest and mountainous regions around Pamir Knot in four countries of High Asia — Afghanistan, China, Tajikistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan the Wakhi people live in three regions – Chitral’s Broghil Valley in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Hunza District’s Gojal Sub-Division, …

News Desk Shirin Nazirmadova, a doctor from southern Tajikistan, has been saving for years to afford the hajj pilgrimage that all able Muslims are required to make once in their lives. But like millions of others, Nazirmadova’s dream journey of a lifetime was shattered when Saudi Arabia decided last month to bar international visitors from making the pilgrimage this year …

blob:https://www.rferl.org/f0105167-7ca9-4487-9108-c8abda861a2b Afghanistan lost $1 million in international funding this year making the drive to halt heroin production in Badakhshan even more challenging Herald Report Afghanistan’s security forces have stepped up their crackdown on heroin labs and poppy farms in Taliban-controlled regions of the country’s northeastern Badakhshan province. Its long border with Tajikistan makes the province one of the main heroin production …

Yamga Wakhani Museum is a treasure trove of artefacts, pottery, musical instruments and various objects invented by or remained in use of the Mubarak Wakhani Farman Ali Mubarakkadam Ibn Abdullo, popularly known as Mubarak Wakhani, was a multi-faceted personality — a philosopher, poet, musician, astronomer, art teacher, and Sufi (mystic) scholar — from Badakhshan, Tajikistan. Born in 1839 in a small village …

Agricultural village in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Photo by Christopher Wilton-Steer/UCA Herald Report In Pamir mountains of High Asia region with limited agricultural lands, rugged topography, and large gradients, the preservation of agrobiodiversity and an appreciation of traditional knowledge about food systems are essential ingredients of a sustainable future. Hence the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) has begun …

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 …

The case of the Shughni language by Farman Ali The Pamirian languages are spoken by people in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral regions of Pakistan as well as Xinjiang province of China. The Pamirian Languages — a linguistic term — has been employed even before the advent of the Soviet Union, the first socialist state, by one of the pioneers …

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 …