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Posts published in April 2013

Deforestation continues to be a major concern in Gilgit-Baltistan

ISLAMABAD:  The government’s term in office may officially be over, but its policies continue to have an overbearing influence on current issues. One such government policy is expected to come under fire on April 8, when the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change will be discussing deforestation. Muhammad Khan Qureshi has been actively campaigning in his native Chilas in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (G-B) Diamer district for the protection of forests, which he says are facing a renewed…

Some forces out to get polls put off, says Yaqoob

by  Syed Rashid Husain in Dawn, Apr 9 DAMMAM, April 8: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan disclosed on Monday that there were forces in Pakistan and abroad striving to get the general elections deferred. Addressing a gathering of Pakistani expatriates over a lunch, the AJK leader emphasised that every effort should be made to ensure that elections were held as scheduled, adding that polls were required for the country’s growth…

The big meltdown: Glaciers on the retreat: edit in Dawn, Apr 8

AWAY from the din of politics and the immediacy of militant strife, a disaster of enormous proportions is silently evolving in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountains up north, one that could in time impact the length and breadth of Pakistan. The peaks are home to some 15,000 glaciers which, as a result of rising temperatures, are retreating at an alarming rate of almost 40 to 60 metres a decade, leaving behind glacial lakes in their wake.…

G-B government reeks of corruption: Opposition

By Shabbir Mir in Express Tribune, Apr 7 GILGIT: The 167-page report released by the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government to highlight its performance over the last three years has attracted fierce criticism from lawmakers. The G-B coalition government led by Pakistan Peoples Party [PPP] released the report, which was presented by Information Minister Ali Madad Sher to the media this week. The document comes in wake of G-B Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig’s threats to expose corrupt…

Pakistan-China border reopened for trade and traffic

GILGIT (INP): Pakistan and China have resumed trade and traffic on the Karakoram Highway, through the Khunjerab Pass. The two countries had earlier this year agreed to open the border on 1st April, instead of 1st May, as was the past practice. A bus carrying passengers from China reached the Pakistan Customs House located in the border town of Sost on Monday.The importance of the trade through the Karakoram Highway has increased significantly due to…

Lashing out: G-B Assembly speaker threatens to ‘expose corrupt lawmakers’

By Shabbir Mir  in The Express Tribune, Apr 2 GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig on Monday threatened to expose corrupt legislators if a no-confidence motion is moved against him. “I will make certain revelations on the floor of the house that will leave many in a state of shock if a no-confidence motion is initiated against me,” Baig told journalists during a function at the Karakoram Public School where he was the chief…

Kishanganga dam: Legal battle far from over

By Zafar Bhutta In Express Tribune,April 1 ISLAMABAD: Although the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) has already announced its partial award on the controversial Kishanganga dam, the festering dispute is far from over. Pakistan and India may soon enter a new legal battle if New Delhi doesn’t change the design of the hydropower project being built on the Neelum-Jehlum river in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Sources told The Express Tribune that Islamabad has…