Aziz Ali Dad An important development during General Ziaul Haq’s period was the opening of the Karakoram Highway in 1979. The route connects Gilgit-Baltistan with western China and the rest of Pakistan. It has exposed the hitherto relatively isolated region of Gilgit-Baltistan to exogenous lifestyles, market forces and ideas. The interface between Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan is crucial …

Noor Akbar Gohar GAHKUCH (Ghizer District), July 13: Complete shutter-down strike was observed by traders here on Thursday against frequent prolonged power outages. The call for the shutter down strike was given by the Gahkuch Bazaar Committee. It has become a norm of the day that people are subjected to unscheduled power outages for long hours, a trader told the …

Aziz Ali Dad Though there was no serious confrontation between different sects in Gilgit-Baltistan during the British period, there were latent sectarian prejudices among the populace. Colonel John Biddulph in his book ‘Tribes of the Hindoo Kush” recorded some practices and attitudes among Sunni and Shia communities that showed increasing dislike for each other among normally moderate people in matters …

“Sectarian thinking is contagious and rapidly spread.” ― Moutasem Algharati   The issue of sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan cannot be analysed through an idealised view that tends to paint the region as an idyllic paradise where no violence ever occurred before the advent of modernity. The reality is that sectarian violence has been a part of the history of Gilgit-Baltistan. Throughout …

Farman Ali There is one right answer to a question. One solution to a problem. And one angle to looking at things. That one right answer, one solution and one angle come from a teacher, an elder, a boss or a TV anchorperson, mostly, in our part of the world. That’s how we are schooled and trained, aren’t we?  As …

Akbar Shah   GILGIT, July 7: Gilgit-Baltistan has been cut off from the world for the last two days due to major telecommunication breakdown. The glitch has disrupted work in government and private offices as well as civic life.  Although the Special Communication Organisation (SCO) had announced that it has started 3G and 4G cellular service in the region from …

Apart from nearly 45,000 books, including magazines, Ahmed Salim has in his collection complete files of some newspapers too  Altaf Hussain Asad June 25, 2017  Ahmad Salim is a multi-dimensional person. He has written Punjabi verse as well as a novel; he has edited countless books in both English and Urdu on literature, politics, social sciences and many other topics. He …

PESHAWAR: Young bikers reveling Eid cause far more road accidents than anything else, a study by the health department reveals. The study conducted during the Eid holidays in 2016 revealed that 77 per cent of road accidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were caused by bikers, mostly by under-age motorcyclists driving recklessly or driving bikes unfit for roads. The districts of Buner …

Islamabad: Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman has said that provincial government will construct an Expo Center in Gilgit and auditorium in all districts to promote art and cultural activities. Talking to media men in Gilgit, he said an amount of two hundred and fifty million rupees will be spent on Expo center project. The Chief Minister pointed out that …

ISLAMABAD: While others may play other games, the king of games is the game of kings – is an adage associated with polo, considered to be one of the most popular sports of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Chitral for centuries. Polo has brought together people of these ancient valleys from times when there were no jeeps plying the narrow, precarious roads in …

CHITRAL: A labourer was allegedly beat and tortured to death by local police in Taral area of Chitral, local people informed. According to local people, the deceased, resident of Barayar Khoon area had went to Drosh in search of labour work, however, police constable Zia-ur-Rehman beat and tortured him to death for not processing CNIC. Later, police buried the body …

Jovago Pakistan recently interviewed Gabriel Gersch, a 30-years old German traveler, photographer and trekking guide. Typically his travels take place in remote mountain ranges and wilderness areas that see very little tourism, such as Alaska, Patagonia, different regions in Africa and Central Asia. In 2015 and 2016 he has been to Pakistan and carried out long and challenging trips in the …