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Pakistan’s remote, neglected mountainous region goes to the polls

Locals participate in a campaign ahead of the legislative assembly elections in Sherqilla, Gilgit Baltistan on Nov. 10, 2020. (REUTERS)
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Updated 15 November 2020
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Pakistan’s remote, neglected mountainous region goes to the polls

  • Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly was created in 2009 and has few powers, region largely governed directly by Islamabad
  • This month PM Khan said he would provide provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, giving it greater political representation
Updated 15 November 2020
Nisar Ali

GILGIT: Voters in Pakistan’s mountainous far north went to the polls on Sunday in an election that has turned the attention of the federal government and major political parties upon an otherwise neglected region facing decades of disenfranchisement.

Since shortly after independence in 1947, Gilgit-Baltistan has not officially been part of Pakistan, but forms part of the portion of disputed Kashmir that Pakistan controls. Both Delhi and Islamabad have claimed all of Kashmir since gaining independence 73 years ago, and have fought two wars over the territory.

The region is Pakistan’s only land link to China and is at the heart of the $65 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure development plan.

For the last few weeks, campaigning has been on in full swing in the area, with candidates from Pakistan's major political parties promising to build infrastructure projects and end decades of neglect.

The Gilgit-Baltistan legislature has 33 seats — 24 general seats, six reserved for women and three for technocrats. But despite the quota, only four women will be competing. Some 330 contenders are vying for ballots of about 745,000 voters.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won the 2015 election in the region and ruled for five years. It hopes to win again, and Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of the party’s founder, and head has furiously campaigned in the area for the last several days. 

Senior PML-N leader and former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman said his party had "left no stone unturned" to make the region prosperous.

But prosperity is not felt on the ground. Pakistan's National Assembly and Senate have no representation from Gilgit-Baltistan, and the region receives only a fraction of the national budget.

In many areas, women have never cast their votes. 

Sadia Danish of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) comes from one such area, Tangir, in Diamir district.

“Daril and Tangir regions of Diamir district have poor literacy rate and women are mostly kept confined to domestic works," PPP Gilgit-Baltistan chapter president Amjad Hussain Advocate told Arab News. "That’s why we have awarded the party’s ticket to the female candidate in Tangir area to spread awareness among women about their due rights."

Earlier this month, the federal government said it had decided to elevate the impoverished region’s status to that of a province, which would give it greater political representation.

The announcement came a year after India changed the status of the portion of Kashmir it controls, taking away the regions autonomy. India rejects Khan’s plan to change Gilgit-Baltistan’s status, and has called the election there an exercise to cover up Pakistan’s occupation of the region. Islamabad denies this. 

Representatives of the PTI say they are confident the party will win a majority in the polls and form the local government. PTI Gilgit division president Raja Jahanzeb said a "fair election" was being held in the region for the first time.

Topics: Pakistan Gilgit-Baltistan Elections 2020

Moroccan, Egyptian stalls shine at Islamabad food fundraiser featuring 80 diplomatic missions

Updated 8 sec ago
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Moroccan, Egyptian stalls shine at Islamabad food fundraiser featuring 80 diplomatic missions

  • Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association in collaboration with Serana Hotels holds international food festival for third consecutive year 
  • IFWA is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1995 by the wives of ambassadors posted in the Pakistani federal capital 
Updated 8 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association (IFWA) organized a food festival in the Pakistani capital on Sunday featuring cuisines from at least 28 countries and raising over Rs.2.5 million ($8,929) to support education and health care initiatives for poor Pakistani women and children.

The festival, organized for the third consecutive year, was a joint project of IFWA and Serena Hotels, with 80 diplomatic missions participating. IFWA is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1995 by the wives of ambassadors posted in Islamabad, with the aim of supporting underprivileged and disadvantaged Pakistani women and children. 

Dianne Hawkins, IFWA president and the wife of the Australian High Commissioner, told Arab News around Rs2.5 million had been raised at Sunday’s event. 

“It is our major fundraising event of the year to support the charities that IFWA supports here [in Pakistan], which are mostly focused on benefiting vulnerable communities of Pakistani society, especially women and children,” Hawkins said, adding that most of the charities IFWA supported were in the education and health sectors.

Aziz Bolani, the CEO Serena Hotels, said that along with supporting underprivileged communities, the event also helped promote international cuisines and cultures through food stalls that represented countries from all around the world.

“There are real needs in Pakistan, and this is a form of diplomacy, a soft approach that brings people together,” he told Arab News.

Among the most popular stalls were those set up by the embassies of Morocco and Egypt. 

“Today, we are serving Moroccan chicken, Moroccan salads, and one of the main traditional dishes of Morocco, that is typically served every Friday, couscous with vegetables,” Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Karmoune told Arab News. 

Homemade Moroccan breads and sweets as well as traditional tea was also available. 

Georg Steiner, the ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, said he hoped the festival would introduce more Pakistanis to Swiss food.

“We brought along some Swiss food like Rösti [potato dish], Zürich style veal, and also some excellent cakes,” he told Arab News.

He said he had tasted food at many stalls and his favorites were those serving Vietnamese, Czech, and Pakistani dishes. 

“I think Pakistani food is always wonderful, be it biryani or something else,” the Swiss envoy added.

Topics: Islamabad Foreign Women Association

Pakistani PM to meet Erdogan today in first leg of regional diplomacy tour

Updated 55 min 29 sec ago
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Pakistani PM to meet Erdogan today in first leg of regional diplomacy tour

  • Sharif will visit Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkiye on five-day visit
  • All four nations supported Pakistan in recent military standoff with India
Updated 55 min 29 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday started a five-day regional diplomacy tour with a trip to Turkiye where he will hold talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Erdogan’s office said.

Sharif will go onwards from Turkiye to Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, four nations that openly supported Pakistan in a military standoff with India earlier this month when the two nuclear-armed neighbors traded missile, drone and artillery strikes for days, killing around 70 people on both sides. A ceasefire was reached on May 10. 

The conflict, the worst between the neighbors in decades, was triggered by a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies involvement. 

“During the meeting, bilateral relations, regional and international issues, including the fight against terrorism, will be discussed,” Erdogan’s head of communications, Fahrettin Altun, said on X.

The PM’s office in Islamabad released footage of Sharif departing on the tour and said he would hold wide-ranging discussions with the leaders of Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan on “an entire range of issues covering bilateral relations and matters of regional and international importance.”

“He will thank friendly countries for the support they have given to Pakistan during the recent crisis with India,” the PMO statement added. 

Erdogan spoke by phone with Sharif on May 7 to convey his solidarity after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles. Leaders from the two nations had several contacts subsequently and Turkiye publicly took Islamabad’s side. It is widely believed that Turkiye played an important role, besides the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia, in convincing India and Pakistan to back off and agree to a ceasefire. The two nations have historically strong ties. 

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part. They both acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.

Topics: Pakistan Turkiye ties President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif PM Shehbaz Sharif in Turkey

At least 14 killed in Pakistan storms after heatwave

Updated 25 May 2025
AFP
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At least 14 killed in Pakistan storms after heatwave

  • A clip filmed inside a plane about to land in Lahore showed passengers screaming as the aircraft was tossed about by turbulence
  • Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events
Updated 25 May 2025
AFP

LAHORE: “Destructive” windstorms that raged across central and northern Pakistan after an intense heatwave have killed at least 14 people and injured over 100 more, officials said Sunday.

Fierce winds, thunder and lightning swept across eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as well as the capital Islamabad on Saturday afternoon and evening, uprooting trees and downing electric poles.

While the majority of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and roofs, at least two people died after being hit by solar panels dislodged by the whipping gusts.

One man was killed and three others were injured by lightning strikes.

Mazhar Hussain, a spokesperson for the Punjab provincial disaster management authority, told AFP that such windstorms develop because of excessive heat, which reached above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days.

“There were three to four days in the recent heatwave where temperatures went up quite a lot,” he said, announcing 14 deaths in Punjab and 100 injured.

“This windstorm was particularly destructive. The wind speed was very high. There was so much dust in it that visibility was greatly reduced.”

The Pakistan Meteorological Department predicted more storms on Sunday.

Social media was replete on Saturday evening with videos of the damage the windstorms had unleashed.

A clip filmed inside a plane about to land in Punjab’s city of Lahore showed passengers screaming in terror as the aircraft was tossed about by turbulence.

The plane was later diverted to Karachi.

Other videos show cars crushed by falling trees and roads blocked by debris.

Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, is grappling with increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Islamabad experienced several usually rare hail storms throughout April and May that damaged vehicles, smashed window panes and shattered solar panels.

Soaring temperatures in April and May are becoming more common in Pakistan, which usually sees summer begin in early June.

Temperatures reached near-record levels in April, as high as 46.5C (115.7F) in parts of Punjab.

Schools in Punjab and Balochistan have announced early summer vacations because of the heat.

Topics: Pakistan Storm Islamabad heatwave

First batch of Bangladeshi players arrives in Pakistan to play three-match T20 series

Updated 25 May 2025
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First batch of Bangladeshi players arrives in Pakistan to play three-match T20 series

  • The series will be held in Lahore, with the first T20 scheduled for May 28
  • Both squads will train at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Monday, the PCB says
Updated 25 May 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: A group of Bangladeshi players arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to play three Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) against the ‘Men in Green,’ the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.

The three-match T20I series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be held in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, with the first match scheduled for May 28.

The first group of Bangladesh contingent arrived in Pakistan in wee hours of Sunday and two more groups will arrive on Monday, according to the PCB.

Members of Pakistan’s squad will assemble in Lahore on Sunday, while players participating in Sunday’s final of the Pakistan Super League will join on Monday.

“Both teams will train at 7:30pm at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore,” the PCB said in a statement.

Bangladesh were initially scheduled to play five T20Is, but the tour was put in jeopardy following a cross-border conflict between Pakistan and India this month.

Both neighbors clashed for four days before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement on May 10.

Pakistan was also forced to reschedule its Twenty20 league — the Pakistan Super League (PSL) — after a ten-day break.

The Indian Premier League — the world’s richest cricket tournament — was also interrupted.

Topics: Cricket Pakistan Bangladesh

Pakistan, Uzbekistan hope to finalize framework agreement for 573-km railway line via Afghanistan

Updated 25 May 2025
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Pakistan, Uzbekistan hope to finalize framework agreement for 573-km railway line via Afghanistan

  • The $4.8 billion project aims to enhance regional trade and logistics movement by connecting the three countries
  • It is part of Pakistan’s efforts to position itself as a key transit hub, connecting landlocked Central Asia to the world
Updated 25 May 2025
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday discussed the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) railway line project with his Uzbek counterpart Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich, the Pakistani foreign ministry said, adding the two figures expressed hope the project’s framework agreement would be completed soon.

The $4.8 billion Uzbekistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan railway line is an extensive project with the objective of creating a direct railway link between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, passing through Afghanistan’s territory.

It aims to enhance trade and logistics efficiency by establishing a 573-kilometer rail connection that would connect Termiz in Uzbekistan to the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar via Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif.

The project is part of Pakistan’s efforts to position itself as a key trade and transit hub, connecting landlocked Central Asian states to the global market through its strategic location.

“Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar today held a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich. The two leaders discussed existing bilateral relations, particularly Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project,” the Pakistani foreign office said.

“They expressed the hope that framework agreement for the regional connectivity project will be finalized soon. Views were also exchanged on current regional situation.”

The three neighboring countries signed an agreement to build the regional connectivity project in February 2021. Dar also visited Afghanistan in April this year and discussed the project with the Afghan Taliban rulers in Kabul.

Pakistan is seeking to leverage its strategic position as a key trade and transit hub to connect Central Asia with global markets and since last year, there has been a flurry of high-level visits, investment discussions and other economic engagements between Islamabad and Central Asian republics.

Pakistan and Uzbekistan have also been working toward optimizing cargo flows, establishing green corridors at border customs points, and digitalization of customs clearance processes to facilitate smoother trade operations.

Topics: Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway

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