by Asad Raza Gokal Since September 2020, when the UAE struck with Israel a deal on normalizing relations, alarm bells began to ring louder for the Pakistani Shia diaspora residing in the country. In the United Arab Emirate (UAE), members of the Shia families, a religious minority, are mostly employed in professions that pay them enough to cater the needs …

High Asia Report GILGIT:  An accountability court on Tuesday accepted the application of Shah Salim Khan, a former member of Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for bargain to pay Rs51 million he had embezzled in Sost Dry Port scam. Justice Khurshid Ahmed of the Accountability Court Gilgit approved the plea bargain on the recommendation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regional office. 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 …

Raza Gillani Why have we spent the last four years, presumably the most crucial time of our lives, organising at various campuses across the country and its administered areas on issues pertaining to student life, gender, education, class, ethnicity, race, etc.? Why have we wasted our time in searching for those who share our principles, dreams, and resolve? Why have …

Of the total 14 political prisoners, 10 have been so far freed in three phases. AWP leader Baba Jan, Iftikhar Karbali and two others are likely to be released on November 27 and 30. High Asia Herald Report GILGIT: Five more political prisoners were freed on Tuesday, ending their nine years’ incarceration in Gahkuch jail as well as a long …

Amir Hussain It might have been a chilly Saturday with clouds of victory hovering over the defence lines of Gilgit Scouts on November 1, 1947. It was a historic day when a legion of local military men of Gilgit Scouts revolted against the Dogra ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). These men in uniform overthrew the …

More than 73 years since its independence, Gilgit-Baltistan remains subject to barely disguised colonial rule to await genuine enfranchisement. While many of Pakistan’s ethnic peripheries harbour deep grievances against the authoritarian and extractive logics of the country’s statecraft, GB is arguably the only region that remains explicitly deprived of even basic democratic, constitutional and human rights. It was only in …

By Ajmal Masood The territory of Gilgit-Baltistan until seventies had been comprised of clusters of autonomous princely states including Hunza and Nager. The two sovereign states had never remained under suzerainty of Jammu and Kashmir. After the Partition of the Indian Sub-Continent, Hunza and Nager were the first states to announce their decision of accession to the federation of Pakistan …

By Amir Roshan As the sit-in and protests for the release of Awami Workers Party (AWP) leaders Baba Jan, Aleem Ahmed, Iftikhar Karbalai, and 11 other imprisoned comrades continue, more people pour into Aliabad to join the main dharna and express solidarity with the families and friends of the prisoners. The sit-in that started at Aliabad, the main town of …

Rizwan K. Qalandar Hunza sit-in for the release of 14 political prisoners incarcerating for over nine years in Damas jail in Ghizer District enters its fourth day. The prisoners of Hunza were convicted by an Anti-Terrorism Court under fabricated charges of sedition and terrorism for destroying government buildings during a massive protest triggered by shooting down of a man and …

Leaders of AWP, other parties have condemned the brutal murder of Professor Naeemuddin Khattak, a progressive academic in broad daylight in Peshawar and expressed solidarity with his family. The noted teacher was shot dead by unknown assailants on October 5 while he was leaving for home from his college. A delegation of the Awami Workers Party Party led by Deputy …

Family members, AWPGB call for polls boycott in GBLA-6 if Baba Jan and 11 other prisoners were not released High Asia Herald Report HUNZA: Family members of the prisoners of conscience have called for a boycott of the forthcoming elections for Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly in Hunza if Baba Jan and his 11 comrades were not released putting the mainstream parties in …

High Asia Herald Report Pakistan ranks the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women, with an alarming rise in cases of sexual crimes,domestic violence and kidnapping and honour crime. VAW is still endemic in Pakistan in a climate of impunity, state inaction, discriminatory legislation and a dysfunctional criminal justice system. On September 11, a woman was gang-raped on …

By Ghulam Amin Beg The old Indian narrative on Jammu and Kashmir of a democratic dispensation, constitutionally guaranteed local autonomy and unique status has disappeared overnight. Thanks to the fascist actions of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government last year. The new status quo in Kashmir has created a new narrative for both pro-Indian and nationalist Kashmiris as well …

President Arif Alvi assents summary; govt weighs in on a proposal to give provisional province status to GB with representation in parliament High Asia Herald Report ISLAMABAD: General elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) will be held on November 15, according to a summary moved by the government and approved by President Arif Alvi on Wednesday. The notification comes …