Author
Aziz Ali Dad
Aziz Ali Dad is a social philosopher and civil society worker based in Gilgit. He regularly writes for the mainstream media on the issues pertaining to peripheral communities.
To free society from the clutches of draconian values and tribal mindset, it is indispensible to break the nexus of tribal chieftains, maliks, mullahs, mafia money and politicians.
The name of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan evokes aesthetic feelings about the land with serenity, gushing rivers, flora and fauna, lofty mountains, glaciers and azure lakes perched in the lap of one of the biggest massifs in the world. What is missing in this process of aesthetics is the human element. Psychologically human beings try to evade disquieting feelings by indulging in beauty. However, like the Keatsian ideal it is not necessary for the beauty to be truth. Sometimes the truth of human condition can be ugly.…
The project of CPEC does not appear in historical vacuum, rather it has emerged from the womb of historical continuum. Building upon the historical connections of China with the Pakistani part of High Asia, China in collaboration with Pakistan built the Karakorum Highway (KKH), which in its turn paved the way for CPEC. Despite historical continuity, CPEC is different in terms of magnitude, coverage and purpose. KKH was primarily driven by geo-strategic and political agenda, whereas CPEC project is a manifestation of shift in…
The collective cultural and historical memory and epigraphic evidence testify to the existence of Silk Route in the region.
The issue of sectarian violence in Gilgit–Baltistan cannot be analysed through idealized view which tends to paint the region as idyllic paradise where no violence occurred in history before the advent of modernity. On the contrary, the reality is that sectarian violence has remained a part and parcel of the history of Gilgit-Baltistan. Throughout history, Gilgit had been depopulated devastated various times because of intermittent wars between regional polities and different religions. Previously, this region was home to…
