By Gohar Abbas with Ben Dooley ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Every autumn on the mountainous Karakoram Highway, part of the ancient Silk Road, groups of Pakistani merchants living in China’s far west would wave goodbye to their Chinese wives and cross the border to spend winter in their home country. As the snow piled high, the men would stay in touch with their families …

Salman Tarik Kureshi “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower, former US President) Those of my readers who have been hunters will know the feeling. You raise your shotgun, sighting …

Fawzia Afzal-Khan The Lahore Literary Festival has been succeeded by a string of events and activities in Lahore bespeaking a notion of citizenship and community which encourages one to think effectively beyond the confines of class, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. This hotbed of activity – an instantiation of the effectively loved of Lahoris; “Lohr Lohr ay” and “Jinnay Lohr naee …

In a letter, over 60 noted professors, researchers urge Punjab university admin, provincial authorities to ensure the protection of life to Dr Ammar Ali Jan, Islam Wazir HAH Report Islamabad: Prominent professors, researchers, and students of leading universities of the world and Pakistan have expressed concern at the “malicious” campaign launched against two faculty members of the Punjab University by the …

Pakistani leftwing working-class women organized rallies in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi for equal space, rights and against patriarchy, exploitation and religious extremism HAH Special Report Islamabad Women organizations around the world mobilised Thursday to celebrate International Women’s Day with Pakistani activists mostly socialist and working-class organisations marching in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi against rising violence, capitalism, feudal and tribal customs, …

Tausif Ahmed Khan Communist politician Jam Saqi facing a military court set up by Gen Ziaul Haq in Karachi. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto appeared in the court to defend Jam Saqi who was facing treason charges and spent eight years in prison. KARACHI: Veteran leftist politician Jam Saqi, who passed away in Hyderabad on Monday after a prolonged illness, …

By Zameer Abbas Pakistan has started issuing on-arrival visas to tourists from 24 countries, notably the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Austria, Finland and Greece etc., from January 2018. The news has rekindled hope of improvement in the tourism sector, the mainstay of Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) economy and a major source of foreign exchange earnings for the national …

Staff Correspondent GILGIT (March 1): Lawyers of Gilgit-Baltistan launched a protest campaign in the capital city on Thursday for pressing their demands. A large number of lawyers and office-bearers of Gilgit-Baltistan Bar Council, GB Supreme Appellate Court Bar Association (SACBA), High Court Bar Association, and District Bar Association including SACBA President Ehsan Ali Advocate, GB Bar Council Vice-Chairman Javed Ahmed …

Aziz Ali Dad The 20th century was unique because of the drastic changes and ruptures it witnessed in every sphere of life, including knowledge. It seems that during the last century creativity of the human mind burst forth with immense energy, enabling mankind to take giant leaps in the fields of science and technology and produce knowledge. This was achieved because …

By Waseem Altaf Writing textbooks for students who are in a formative stage is serious business. Errors and omissions on part of the writers due to lethargy, ignorance or self-complacency are pardonable and can be corrected. However, when textbooks are written with the express aim of misguiding the pupils and indoctrinating adherence to status quo, support for the regime in …

HAH Report Islamabad (Feb 27): Two books on the oral tradition of Pamiri Kyrgyz people living in Turkey have been published. Authored by renowned Kyrgyz folklorist and ethnographer Dr Sulaiman Kaiypov, the books Proverbs and Sayings of the Pamiri Kyrgyz Living in Turkey, and Funeral Laments of the Pamiri Kyrgyz Living in Turkey, have been published with the support of the University of …

ISLAMABAD Russo-Polish climber Denis Urubko has called off his attempt to summit K2 alone during winter, a post on his former teammates’ Facebook page said Monday after a weekend drama saw him begin what another climber had called a suicide mission. Urubko, 44, was part of a team of Polish mountaineers attempting to be the first to scale the world’s …

Anayat Baig KARACHI: Academics, student activists, and journalists emphasized the importance of freedom of expression and role of student unions in the promotion and strengthening of democratic culture and values on campuses and in society. They held academics responsible for self-censorship, espousing anti-politics narrative, reinforcing the legacy of dictatorship and reducing the chances of the 60 percent youth bulge to …

Ali Ahmed Jan & Asif Sakhi Islamabad Police in Pakistan has gained notoriety for their misuse of authority, corrupt practices, brutality, highhandedness, and violence against the working class and hapless people. The Punjab police have become a symbol of fear and brutality which is evident from the rising number of complaints against the force. People, mostly from far-flung areas like Fata …

HAH Special ISLAMABAD (Feb 26): A Russian-Polish mountaineer has launched the first solo attempt to summit K2 — the world’s second-highest peak — during winter, in what fellow climbers described as a reckless decision. Denis Urubko, 44, was part of a team of Polish mountaineers attempting to be the first to scale the 8,611-meter (28,251 feet) K2 in winter, but broke …