The matter of granting provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan involves a contested political process with multifarious implications to the interests of stakeholders

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, marked on August 15, has prompted a sequence of pushbacks on the rights and regular movements of citizens, especially women who, as they anticipated, are facing multiple threats to political representation, education and public work.

DUSHANBE, Aug 18:  The Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan on Wednesday rejected Taliban rule of his country and said Panjshir province, north of Kabul, would serve as a stronghold for resistance led by self-proclaimed acting president Amrullah Saleh. Afghan First Vice-President Saleh said on Tuesday he was the “legitimate caretaker president” of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as …

A 2,500-kilometer road trip by Anzor Bukharsky, one of Central Asia’s most beloved photographers and cultural commentators, offers a rare glimpse into everyday life on the backstreets and byways of Uzbekistan. Two local girls walk near a 900-year-old minaret in the southern town of Minor, near the border with Afghanistan. A man rests during a scorching-hot day in the courtyard …

Leaders of lawyers' and media bodies, human rights defenders, and parliamentarians Thursday vowed to resist increasing assault on judiciary and media.

Activists of the Leftwing AWP, WDF, PrSF, PSC and media persons condemn the complicity of Muslim states, imperialist powers in killings of Palestinians, including children; demand international community's intervention to stop the continued attacks and genocide of Palestinians by Israel.

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 detention of their …

By Ghulam Amin Beg For some years we thought that we have learned our lessons and embraced peace after decades of violence. We thought ‘the powers that be’ will ensure peace and calm in Gilgit-Baltistan as the gateway to CPEC and will shun the policy of ‘divide and rule’. We thought coalition governments and inclusive policies will help transition to …

Press Release Islamabad: The organisers of the Aurat Azadi March (women liberation march) Islamabad chapter has expressed dismay at the order issued by a Peshawar session court. The sessions court judge on Friday directed the Peshawar Cantonment police to file an FIR under Section 22A of the CrPC against organisers and participants of ‘Aurat March’ held on 8th March 2021 …

High Asia Herald Report Journalists, politicians, academics, intellectuals and rights activists have expressed solidarity with the organisers of Aurat Azadi March (AAM) and have condemned the smear campaign by obscurantist rightwing groups and trolls. The Aurat March was held in several cities of Pakistan to commemorate International Women’s Day on 8th March. A joint statement signed by over 1,000 leading …

Political parties and lawyers have expressed their resolve to fight for the freedom of the press, expression guaranteed in the Constitution. They called for an end to muffling of the freedom of media and expression, repressive censorship, press advice, retrenchments of journalists and media workers, payment of salaries, the abolition of the unjust and discriminatory advertisement policy of the federal government and implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award.

Calls for community-driven and managed approach in Gilgit-Baltistan By: Anmol, Shams Uddin & Anayat Baig Karachi: The neoliberal development and conservation have failed to achieve the objectives of protecting endangered species rather endangered the indigenous communities and nature. The market-driven model of conservation is aimed at colonization and securitization of people living in peripheries through the occupation of their common …

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 …