Window to Gilgit-Baltistan

By Syed Shams Uddin A deeply alarming video that surfaced on Facebook on July 22 has once again drawn public attention to the growing environmental vulnerability of Gilgit-Baltistan. The footage shows a colossal wave of floodwater—described by eyewitnesses as the largest ever—rushing through Danyore's Manogah stream and tearing past Sultanabad with ferocious intensity. Laden with mud, stones, uprooted vegetation, and other debris, the massive flood resembling a rampaging storm, struck the Hunza River at Sarwar's Khari innundating this tiny habitat by momentarily blocking the Hunza River. The waterscape of Danyore has been completely obliterated at places, as the flood first swept away the fragile piped water supply running through the nullah—on which the entire area, including Sultanabad, Muhammadabad, and central Danyore, depends. The irrigation system too has also been damaged, while other related losses are yet to be fully assessed.It is said that there has been flooding too...

By Syed Shamsuddin Genesis and Raison d’Être of the Border Pass System The inception of the Border Pass System can be traced back to the construction of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and the signing of the first Border Protocol Agreement between Pakistan and China. Recognizing the deep-rooted historical ties and the enduring legacy of the ancient Silk Route, both governments agreed to grant the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China unhindered access across the border. This initiative aimed to foster people-to-people interactions, revitalize age-old trade routes, and strengthen socio-economic cooperation. By facilitating seamless cross-border movement, the system sought to bolster economic integration and reinforce cultural and commercial bonds that had historically flourished along these trans-Himalayan trade corridors. To institutionalize and regulate this framework, specialized trade bodies were established on both sides. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the Northe...