Window to Gilgit-Baltistan

By Syed Shams Uddin July 2, 2025 Once to be hailed as the “Shangri-La of Asia,” Gilgit-Baltistan is now sounding a distress signal that the world can no longer afford to ignore. This northern frontier of Pakistan, known for its towering peaks, verdant valleys, and some of the largest non-polar glacial reserves on Earth, is undergoing a dangerous transformation. Its glaciers—those silent sentinels of the Karakoram and Hindukush ranges—are not merely melting. They are warning us. Cracks in Paradise: From Bagrote to Nagar and Beyond From the awe-striking Gargo and Khama Glaciers in Bagrote Valley to the fast-depleting icefields of Nagar Proper, every corner of Gilgit-Baltistan now bears visible scars of ecological distress. What was once thought to be a slow-moving threat—climate change—has erupted into an onslaught of rapid disasters: flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), collapsing hanging glaciers, and freak weather events. These are no longer seasonal anomalies. They...