Progressive Pakistan

Bride Adiba was strangled to death by in-laws in Shimshal,Gilgit-Baltistan.The body was left on river-bank.Though FIR was registered ,murderers were apprehended yet they were released on bail.This exposes our rotten justice system.Hence the threat posed to lives of women by domestic violence can't be condoned.  How could in-laws kill the newly wed bride ,wrapped the body in the blanket ,left in open and painted it as suicide. This case should thoroughly be looked into.Shame on those men and women who are involved in her murder.  Daughters are wed with a dream that they will live happily and become torch bearers of up coming generation being the first and primary institution BUT who knows that they will be choked to death like #Adiba by in-laws.  Raise your voice against domestic violence before it's too late. No one deserves to be killed this way.This is murder in cold blood.

  The war stricken Afghanistan remained in crisis because it's land has been used as a battlefield by big powers and their proxies for vested interests.No one thought of Afghan people beyond politics. The festering wound and worsening situation in Afghanistan demands magnanimity with the Afghan people.Hundreds of thousands of people from peripheries thronged into Kabul.  Women are not allowed to work in offices,young girls are sent back to home from colleges and universities.People are stuck at airport.Afghan Youth has been seen trying to board US Airforce Plane as they want to flee Afghanistan for better future and opportunities. No one can anticipate the future as people are going through uncertainity and chaos.Atleast we should feel the ordeal people of Afghanistan are going through. It is the most difficult time under Taliban's rage.Prayers for the people of Afghanistan.  Flabbergasted to see some people in Pakistan among proponents of Taliban even after APS attack Pe...

  Some pals raise a few eye brows on road blockades during Muharram.Let me disect it in few dimensions. Jalose routes are permitted and scheduled by Administration one or two days before processions and we follow the designated routes.If traffic is not properly managed it is failure on behalf of traffic police and concerned echelons. Muharram proccessions are staged throughout the world.In western countries traffic and route planning are good enough to divert the traffic smoothly.Therefore we see people on protests right infront of White House America. When we have a visit of Sir Agha Khan in Hunza or PM Pakistan in GB ,their protocol and prerogative is always followed ,routes are priorly decided to avoid congestion but traffic jams are obvious due to poor town planning and traffic strategies. We used to see protests every next day on roads in Pakistan and across the globe against discrimination ,prejudice,price hikes,inflation  and human rights violation.We had a sit-in of 12...

  US withdrew from Afghanistan in dark in accordance with it's foreign policy to exit 20 years of war, which it started to avenge 9/11 attack.The americans deliberately left heavy ammunition and weaponry behind to further aggravate the situation. As of now the fate of Aghanis is in the hands of war-lords and various Taliban factions.The recent developments suggest Afghanistan is advancing towards Civil war because most of the areas have been controlled by Talibans.Moreover Talibans are also striving hard to create unrest near Tajikistan's border along durand line. It may be anticipated that the northern part of Pakistan i.e Gilgit-Baltistan could also suffer from the ongoing outrage because one of cults of Taliban released a video of an open Kachery held in Babusar area.The spokesperson floated few of the concerns. The commander while reading a script also discussed about a deal finalised with echelons and political leadership of Gilgit-Baltistan in 2019 that means someone a...

The grafting of two glaciers to create new glaciers in order to utilize water for irrigation and in some cases to give impetus to hydro power on micro level ; a myth that remained the cultural heritage of the indigenous people of north.It is considered one of the popular natural phenomena in Gilgit-Baltistan.  The folklore explains that there is a male glacier called "Bero Gamuk" and a female glacier known as "Shochi Gamuk".Male glaciers are grey in colour, possesses debris, while female glaciers are transparent or bluish in color.The male glacier spills little water and moves slowly, while a female glacier is a growing glacier that gives off a lot of water.  The grafting process requires a piece each of a ‘male’ and ‘female’ glacier weighing approximately 45kg. Villagers pack these pieces in barley hay to make them warmer and carry them in a basket locally called "Karai".Then they transport it to the designated place and cover them with the mixture of mud...

Gilgit-Baltistan:the heaven on earth in the lap of three mountain ranges ,the Hindukush ,the Karakorum and the Himalayas is yet to be explored by tourists across the globe. It has three divisions i.e Gilgit division ,Baltistan division and Diamer division with further bifurcation into 10 districts. Almost every district of Gilgit-Baltistan conceals breath taking landscapes and lush green pastures. Difficult terrain ,lofty and icy mountains ,mighty glaciers ,cascading streams,serenity and lakes makes this chunk one of the beautiful and worth visiting places of northern Pakistan.Lets give a bird eye to some of them. The foremost is district Astore that has lakes,dancing waterfalls and trekking areas.This district is the door to Deosai National Park or Deosai Plains at the height of 12000 feet above the sea level.The park is made to protect wildlife especially endangered specie Brown Bear. The park borders district Astore-Diamer division and Skardu-Baltistan division.The tourist can get...

People suffering from inferiority complex are always in quest of power and authority, be that a lucrative job in government,a slot in political landscape,a decent post in corporate sector or assuming a respectable position in a clan, tribe or least would be a dominant , eldest brother /sister or strict father-cum-power freak heading a nuclear or extended family.Let us critically analyze the life of a power freak. A family living under the same roof as an organization where it's members are inextricably connected with each other , sharing every thick and thin are also in power struggle in one way or other. Ostensibly the blue eyed child who could be a sister or a brother mostly eldest among siblings with inflated ego enjoys the preference in the family, and cold shoulder is given to rest of the children. The priority and privilege are neither based on intellect and sacrifices for the family nor merit rather it purely depends on the orthodox and old schooled father to the side he ...

  Hasnain Ramal is one of the staunch nationalist voices of Gilgit-Baltistan.He has played a pivotal role to morph left-wing progressive politics of the region.His political ideology about Gilgit-Baltistan is far different from others.He asserts Gilgit-Baltistan a disputed territory stipulated in UNCIP resolutions.  Therefore he lays emphasis on it's political resolution as per UNCIP resolutions without exacerbating Kashmir cause.Precisely he demands implementation of State Subject Rule ,withdrawal of Pakistan Army from the disputed region and right to self-determination.He raised few questions while he was behind bars,that are still unanswered. His activism on social media also circumscribes his demands.He speaks volumes on constitutional rights,privatization,land acquisition and against resentment in Gilgit-Baltistan.The reasons he is behind bars.His incarceration for the second time could not wane his political standing on the cause as he still stands high on pedestal witho...

The sacred Civil-Military bureaucracy hides colonial legacy if history is unveiled.After the inception of Pakistan the economy of the nascent state was in turmoil.Therefore foreign aid was doled out to alleviate poverty and help elevate economic indicators of the country but unfortunately the aid was materialised to strengthen both civil and military bureaucracy behind the facade of external threats from the neighboring countries. The officialdom and administrators were deployed to rule the public. Herculean efforts were made using public offices to atomize and stratify society for private gains.Tens of thousands of people migrated from India to Pakistan dreaming of a change but that change remained a tax code which rewarded those lobbyists who wrote it instead of the workers and small businesses who deserve it. Fuedal lords and Industrialists started allying with bureaucracy in quest of power ,authority and to reach parliament in exchange for giving clean chit to bureaucracy so that...

  Power crisis is one of impediments in development of Gilgit-Baltistan.Prolonged load sheding and sky rocketed electricity bills have made mundane's life miserable. To address this issue the concerned Water and Power Department Gilgit had opened bids for a project of Supply,Installation and Commissioning of Solar Systems in 21 vital government offices. The project is a test run to vet the reliability of Photo Voltaic (PV) systems during intermittent weather of the hilly and difficult terrain. The contractor A.A Construction Private Limited remained successful to win this project after acquiring technical and financial qualification. Furthermore ,the contractor sublet the project to a robust and reputed company named as Kamal Green Energy and Tech Solutions to infuse renewable green and clean energy. For the very first time equipment of International standard has been used.The Project of around 170KW Solar system embellished with Solar Panels PV Jinko 440W ,Ritar 200 AH Batter...

Six people including a woman were killed at Naltar ,Gilgit in wake of a tribal scuffle.Every section of our society voiced the victims and criticized the heinious crime. It is good to hear that culprits of Naltar Incident have been apprehended.Police and Law enforcement organs must be lauded for their quick action. Some months back two young souls Farjaad and another were lynhced in Naltar ,few friends of them created hype on social media against the massacre but rest of us remained silent even Police wasnot ostensibly functional to bring the perpetrators to justice. Years back ,dozens of passengers in Babusar ,Lolosar were lynched brutally on KKH after checking NICs.The kind people of Chilas helped most to elude the tragedy But again majority of us were observing silence so do our Law enforcement bodies. The episode wise tragedies and our Institutional selective approach towards the victims and deceased manifest how cruel and criminal we all are from inside out. We cannot openly...

  This day drifts us to March 23, 1940 when Pakistan Resolution was passed.Father of the nation the great Quaid e Azam on this day at Minto Park for the first time demanded a saparate country for muslims. It is pertinent to ask why Quaid e Azam wanted a saparate country ? The Quaid anticipated that Muslims could not prosper ,propel and live their lives in accordance with their religion and culture in an independent India dominated by the Hindu majority. He thus demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims where they would be free to practice their religion and follow their culture. This narrative was fully endorsed by Muslims of the Sub-Continent but it was a knee-jerk for Hindu leaders like Nehru ,Gandhi and their protagonists who were not ready to accept the Muslim demands and claimed to be the sole representatives of the Indian population. On this day, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, with his insight and vision showed to the whole world that he was the only roaring voice of the Muslim...

Muhammad Ali Sadpara remained an iconic climber , kind porter and a true mountaineer was based in a small peripheral Sadpara village of Skardu ,Gilgit-Baltistan.He started his expedition few days back with a dream to summit second highest lofty K-2.He was accompanied by his son and others.He set out in winters when temperature usually drops below -15°C at base camp and -63 °C at bottle neck i.e over 8200m of the mighty K-2. The resilient climber Ali Sadpara and his team went missing when they ascended bottle neck while his son Sajid Sadpara returned from 7000 m after some technical fault in his oxygen regulator.The rescue veterans of Pakistan army searched thrice to trace the national hero Ali and others but failed due to intermittent weather.The bad news of missing mountaineers had inundated mainstream media across the globe.Unfortunately the hope of their survival faded away gradually as days passed by. It is pertinent here to discuss whether it was a wrong decision of his to climb ...

  Religion A unified system of beliefs and practices regarding sacred things that unites it's adherents into a single moral community. Elements of Religion 1-Sacredness ,which transcends the everyday life. 2-Set of beliefs 3-Rituals to affirm those beliefs 4-Organisation of believers who share the same belief. Functions of Religion 1-It is one of the cultural universals- globally common patterns and traits- 2-It is an integrative force that has the primary function to preserve and solidify society.It strengthens the collective unity or social solidarity of a group.Sharing same religion increases cohension and fraternity building moral order that leads to creation of a moral community. 3-Religious beliefs can influence the conduct of those who believe in them.It keeps people in line through folkways and mores.It provides a foundation for mores of society. 4-Religion helps in performing ceremonies and rituals related to rites of passage( birth ,marriage ,death and ot...

Culture The values ,beliefs ,behavior and material objects that form a people's way of life.In other words it is the shared way of living. Culture is everything that is socially learned and shared by members of society.The individual receive culture as a social heritage and in return he may reshape the culture and bring innovations which then become part of heritage of successive generations. How culture develops ? People when start living together they identify the challenges they came across.Hence they strive to address those challenges through ideas and innovations.They invent tools ,devices ,objects and artifacts. Characteristics of a Culture Culture socially evolves.It is shared ,mostly adaptive,variable and dynamic.It saves members from trials ,errors through defining a situation ,guiding acceptable behavior pattern that act as a time saving device. Types of Culture 1-Material Culture 2-Non-material Culture Material Culture The inventions by the members o...

  Violence or coercion that culminates in physical ,sexual and mental suffering of gender(male/female).It embues threats and arbitrary deprivation of liberty in private or public walks of life. The literacy rate of Gilgit-Baltistan is higher than other provinces but unfortunately a recent survey on "husbands beating wife is considered okay" throughout Gilgit-Baltistan by women of northern Pakistan. Respondents were asked about the following reasons for husbands perpetrating violence against their wives: if the woman goes out without telling the husband, neglects the children, argues with her husband, refuses copulation and burns the food. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/749999-gb-women-accept-wife-beating This study is an eye opener for everyone where women are proponents of battering.Ostensibly women are oblivious of their rights.Perhaps they are immune to direct,economic ,cultural and structural violence. The so called proponents are unaware as batterers want to ...

The demise of Justice Retired Syed Jaffar Shah is going to change the political dynamics of Gilgit-Baltistan because the veteran politician was among one of the most influential and enlightened figures of the region.He remained President of two mainstream political parties PPP and PTI respectively.The legacy of his politics is paramount to take a bird eye view of social and political paradigms of Gilgit-Baltistan. The nation couldn't forget his services he rendered to the disputed chunk of northern Pakistan.The foremost was the empowerment Ordinance 2009 of Gilgit-Baltistan he drafted, which served as a gleam of light in pitch darkness of backwater ,the cosmetic measures were later replicated in Order 2018 with few more provisions. It is pertinent to discuss about the vacuum and void he created not only in his party PTI but in political canvas of Gilgit-Baltistan.The lack of second row leadership has always been one of the hurdles to strengthen democratic forces in Pakistan.Lik...

Social Stratification is the socio-economic layering of people in a society according to wealth ,power and prestige.The system through which a society bifurcates masses into various categories in comparison with other group or individuals in a society.Class and caste system ,slavery and estates are the offshoots of social stratification. The political spectrum of Gilgit-Baltistan mimics other four provinces of Pakistan in one way or other.Fuedal lords ,elitists and industrialists have legacy of holding key roles in politics to quench the thirst of power and authority.Likewise the elite of Gilgit-Baltistan has been witnessed while playing cards in power corridors to decide the fate of down trodden and poor. Why we always elect the rich to represent the poor ? The popular opinion is poor lack resources and capital to garner votes.If someone pops up from lower or middle class to voice the voiceless, he is compelled to withdraw.This divide erodes the system from inside out.The poor and ...

Pakistan' s Position on Kulbhushan Jhadav : Kulbhushan Jhadav was arrested in March 2016 from Mushkal area of Baluchistan, Pakistan when he orchestrated to meet Baloch militants of Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA).Probably he was betrayed and apprehended by security forces of Pakistan. When he was taken into custody he had two identities. One was Kulbhushan Jhadav,the name he was recruited to Indian Army with in 1987. Later he joined Research Analysis Wing (RAW) as Commander Indian Navy. He also had held a passport with another name Hussain Mubarak Patel , found during his detention. He was not only an agent of Research Analysis Wing (RAW) and naval officer but a despicable tool to fuel anti-state elements and terrorist attacks to sabotage national security of Pakistan. He was in direct contact with Alok Joshi ,the Ex-Head of RAW  and Ajeet Doval National Security Adviser of India. This was the position Pakistan maintained in it's Military courts and International Court of Jus...

Everyone of us need to align and streamline our facts instead of fallacies. First of all there is a misconception that we will invite private companies like Witribe,Nayatel,Multi-net and other ISPs to provide their internet services in Gilgit-Baltistan. Not a single company is authorized to operate in Gilgit-Baltistan except SCO under clause 40 of Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority Ordinance 1996 and adaptation of Gilgit-Baltistan governance Order 2009-2018 article 71 which states that any citizenry and company can go to court against illegal operation and execution in Gilgit-Baltistan. Clause 40 Pakistan Telecom Regulatory Authority Ordinance 1996 This is totally a political issue.Imagine Gilgit-Baltistan Council that is the supreme body of GB ,PTA ,telco giant of Pakistan and Frequency Allocation Board failed to stand before SCO in Court in 2018 due to Clause 40. Article 71 Governance Order 2009 Our diplomats were at relentless sleep.Therfore they failed to amend this la...