Representatives of over a dozen indigenous peoples of mountainous regions discuss challenges, opportunities, and strategies at Bahrain conference Farman Ali The adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the 13th of September 2007 was a major step towards addressing the human rights violations against 400 million Indigenous peoples in over 70 countries. The Declaration …

Maria Tirmizi When she tweeted out a customary Arabic prayer to mourn for the victims of the New Zealand mosque attack, Ilhan Omar was singled out by a major news outlet. A click-bait headline read, “Ilhan Omar shares Muslim verse….” The Democratic Congresswoman from Minnesota is frequently over-scrutinized, misrepresented, and vilified, just for being who she is. She is the …

  Gul Nayab Islamabad: Residents of Yasin Valley, mostly youth and students residing in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, converged at the open air theatre of Lok Virsa on Sunday to celebrate their rich culture, art, and unique but endangered language ‘Burushaski’. The indigenous language is spoken over 150,000 people in Yasin, Nagar, and Hunza. “Burushaski is the …

Herald Report A number of academics from public and private educational institutes of the city have set up a forum for protection of academic freedom and articulate progressive interventions based on scholarly research. This was announced during a discussion on the crises of Pakistani universities and mapping a progressive future at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) office in …

Writing is the most appropriate way of expressing trauma and complications, and I will be the last one to make rules for writing in terms of impression and style, said acclaimed Indian Booker-winning author Arundhati Roy. She was speaking on her novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness while addressing a conference at International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) through Skype. The conference, ‘Getting …

Shahzaib Hassan “Man is by nature a social animal and that one who does not socialize in society is either a beast or a god.”—Aristotle It is a universally accepted fact that we are nothing if we are not interconnected, interdependent and interlinked in a chain and does not feel each other’s pain, sorrow, and agonies. According to a research …

Farman Ali Social media has seen exponential growth during the last decade offering a lot of advantages and disadvantages for society. It helps people in connectivity, access to education, information, awareness and building communities through sharing photographs and information. But at the same time, it has also put serious challenges and risks from bullying to hacking, addiction to scams and …

Farman Ali   The High Asia Herald and Baam-e-Dunya media group is proud to announce the launching of two songs of Wajahat Shah Aalmi, a young multitalented songwriter, composer and singer from Yasin valley of Ghizer district in Gilgit-Baltistan. ‘Aamad’ Wajahat’s much-awaited debut video song ‘Aamad’ (Arrival in Persian) will be launched on Saturday, April 27, at the office of …

In Gilgit-Baltistan, exists a remarkable oasis with high literacy rates and gender equality. By Sam Dalrymple In the disputed Karakoram mountains, the isolated Hunza valley feels cut off from the fractious politics surrounding it. As one approaches 8,200 feet, pine forests and orchards envelop villages that glint orange with apricots drying on their rooftops. The blue and mustard shuttlecock burqas, …

Saad Sayeed ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he would not hesitate to make more changes to his cabinet if required a day after a major reshuffle that saw the appointment of a new finance minister and nine other ministerial switches. The cabinet shakeup, which comes eight months after Khan took office, included the replacement of …

RSF, KUJ condemn ‘trumped-up charges’ against Shahzeb Jillani Herald Report A district court in Karachi on Wednesday extended by a week the interim pre-arrest bail granted to journalist Shahzeb Ali Shah Jillani in a case pertaining to alleged cyber terrorism, electronic forgery and defamatory remarks regarding state institutions. Last week, the journalist had been granted interim bail before arrest in …

Herald Report An unprecedented change is taking place in global capitalism regarding the spatial shift from old advanced capitalist economies to emerging capitalist economies. This change is arguably qualitatively and quantitatively different from the usual pattern of uneven regional development under capitalism. For the first time in the history of global capitalism, the shift is taking place from relatively less …

Express solidarity with Mashal’s family, Jallianwala Bagh and Hazara carnage By Nusrat Hussain Rallies were held on April 13 in major cities of Pakistan for restoration of student unions, elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence and secularization of the curriculum to counter extremism, and hateful ideologies in educational institutes. Torch-bearing marches were also held Progressive political activists, academics, …

By Shahzaib Hassan What is the role of women in economic activities and social development of Gilgit-Baltistan’s society and what are the impediments in the way of emancipation and empowerment of women? These questions perplex me. I don’t know about the past, but I have been trying to understand class structure, social relationship and status of women in the setting …

A budding Pakistani music star is pushing the boundaries of what women can do in particular conservative corners of this Islamic society. She’s following her dream but fearing for her safety. See video: <iframe src=”https://www.rferl.org/embed/player/0/29872752.html?type=video” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” width=”640″ height=”360″ allowfullscreen></iframe>