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Avalanche risk, bad weather disrupt climbing season in Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: Climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns have worsened conditions on the peaks of the Karakoram Range in Gilgit-Baltistan, creating serious difficulties for mountaineers. No climber managed to summit the world’s second-highest mountain, K2 (8,611 metres), or Gasherbrum-I (8,080 metres), this summer. Around 40 foreign climbers also failed to reach the summits of Gasherbrum-II (8,035 metres), Broad Peak (8,047 metres) and Nanga Parbat (8,126 metres) this year. Persistent storms, heavy snowfall, unstable snow conditions and an exceptionally high avalanche risk created hurdles for climbers attempting to summit peaks in Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly five of the 14 eight-thousanders. No climber managed to summit K2, Gasherbrum-I this summer Expedition teams usually spend weeks at base camps assessing weather forecasts, fixing ropes and acclimatising before beginning their summit push. Mountaineers have experienced persistent bad weather, avalanches, rockfalls, stron...
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Govt opts for high-level talks as strike strains ports

• Federal minister Aleem Khan, Sindh governor to meet goods transporters in Karachi • Security authorities join efforts to help break deadlock ISLAMABAD: With congestion beginning to build at the ports due to a pile-up of containers, the eight-day strike by truckers and edible oil tankers could end on Sunday (today) following a crucial round of talks at Governor House in Karachi between senior federal and provincial government officials and representatives of the transporters. Sources in the federal government told Dawn that the prolonged disruption and its impact on trade had prompted official efforts to resolve the dispute, with security authorities also becoming involved in attempts to break the deadlock. “The concerns of the striking truckers and edible oil tankers are genuine, but the government too has its procedural limitations,” a senior official said, adding that the transporters were seeking a strong guarantor regarding implementation of any agreement. Communications Mi...
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Morocco arrests 111 migrants headed for Spain's Ceuta in security crackdown

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Moroccan police arrested at least 111 people on Saturday as they tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta , amid tightened security on both sides of the border after social media posts called for another mass migrant crossing. The attempted crossing came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, sparking tensions within the European Union and fuelling anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died in the attempt to reach European soil. A source in Morocco’s Interior Ministry told Reuters those detained included 109 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and two Moroccan citizens arrested in or around Fnideq, the Moroccan city opposite Ceuta. According to Spanish news agency EFE , Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants gathered on hills about 3km from the border. Reuters later saw hundreds of police officers, some in riot gear and others in plain clothes, returning from the hills outside Fnideq. ...
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Footprints: SPEAKING URDU IN XINJIANG

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Sunny (Rahiman Ma) in the front joins in a Mongolian folk dance during a visit to the Xianghe community in Urumqi. —Photo by the writer “ASSALAM-o-Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah-i-Wa Barakatuh.” This is how our tour guide greets us soon after landing at Urumqi Airport. She introduces herself as ‘Sunny’, and then tells us that her given name is Rahiman Ma. “You are Muslim?” I ask. “Alhamdolillah yes,” she smiles and nods. Urumqi, the capital and largest city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China, has an estimated population of 4.4 million people including a robust Muslim population of Uyghur, Hui, Mongols, Kazakh and Kyrgyz Muslims, that amounts to around 12 per cent of the city’s total number of people. Over the course of the next three days, I encounter many more Muslims in the city, as well as several others with Muslim-sounding names who said that they don’t follow any religion. I also notice some Arabic writing along with the Chine...
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Taliban support

THE latest UN monitoring report analysing the activities of several transnational terrorist groups is unequivocal in its assessment: the Afghan Taliban “have continued their support” to the banned TTP. Though the report says that the regime in Kabul has taken some tepid steps to control its TTP comrades, this is clearly not enough, as the continuing reign of terror orchestrated by the TTP in Pakistan shows. Moreover, the document also confirms that Taliban-ruled Afghanistan remains a safe haven for a number of lethal terrorist groups, posing a grave security challenge to regional countries. These outfits include IS-K, Al Qaeda — which includes AQIS, its Indian subcontinent arm — and ETIM. The report says that IS-K poses the biggest threat to both the Taliban regime and the broader region, despite suffering setbacks due to the kinetic action taken by Pakistan as well as Kabul. Some parts of the report deserve particular attention. For example, it says...
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Pakistan Army major general appointed new force commander of UN mission in Western Sahara

Pakistan Army Major General Jawwad Ahmed Qazi has been appointed the new force commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso), the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN announced on Thursday. In a social media post on X, Pakistan’s mission said, “UN Secretary General António Guterres has appointed Major Gen Qazi of Pakistan as the new force commander of Minurso.” “With over 35 years of leadership and operational experience in the Pakistan Army and UN peacekeeping, Major Gen Qazi brings extensive command, field and international experience to the mission,” the mission said. According to Pakistan’s mission, Major Gen Qazi has previously served in senior leadership roles, including command, staff and instructional positions, both in Pakistan and abroad. His previous appointments in Pakistan include general officer commanding of an infantry division, force commander in the Northern Areas and direc...
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AJK outlook

AS the staggered polls for the AJK Legislative Assembly enter their final stretch, it appears that the PML-N is in a commanding position, and is already working on a governance plan for the region. Marred by violence as well as allegations of rigging by the PPP — the PML-N’s coalition partner at the centre — these polls have not been without controversy. Re-polling will be held at some polling stations in Bagh over the weekend, while votes will be cast in seven constituencies of Poonch division on Aug 20 or Aug 21 . Polling was postponed in these constituencies due to the volatile law and order situation. The AJK polls have exposed a widening gap between the PML-N and PPP, with the latter claiming that the AJK Election Commission had not ensured transparent polling. PML-N leaders, however, have downplayed these concerns, saying that their party head Nawaz Sharif will choose the next AJK prime minister. While the PML-N’s lead looks unassailable at this...
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