By Syed Shams Uddin In the digital age, social media has emerged as one of the most transformative tools in shaping public discourse and influencing administrative responsiveness. While it initially began as a platform for social interaction, over time it has evolved into a dynamic medium through which citizens can voice grievances, flag official misconduct, and highlight systemic issues with immediacy and reach that traditional means of communication often lacked. This evolution has deep implications for governance in developing democracies such as Pakistan. At the heart of good governance lies the ability of the state to respond to the needs and concerns of its citizens in a timely and just manner. However, the bureaucratic machinery, often burdened by red tape, resource constraints, and entrenched hierarchies, has historically struggled to provide swift redress to public complaints. For the common citizen—especially those from marginalized segments—this often meant resorting t...
By Syed Shams Uddin As global awareness grows around the threats of climate change, countries like China have begun implementing radical solutions such as forest cities — urban spaces where buildings are covered with thousands of trees and plants to mitigate air pollution and rising temperatures. While such grand innovations may seem out of reach for economically modest regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, their underlying philosophy — that of integrating nature into urban design — is deeply relevant, perhaps even essential, for our part of the world. The environmental challenges faced by Gilgit-Baltistan are stark and immediate. Once characterized by clean mountain air, glacial rivers, and green valleys, many parts of the region are now under siege from unplanned urban expansion, haphazard construction, and the rapid loss of vegetation. Increasing tourist influx, combined with infrastructure pressures and population growth, has led to the mushrooming of concrete dwellings — often at t...