Window to Gilgit-Baltistan

By  Syed Shamsuddin   This afternoon, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, I was struck with the grievous and heart-wrenching news of the sudden passing away of my paternal first cousin’s son, Colonel (r) Syed Javaid Hussain , in Rawalpindi. Words fail to capture the shock and sorrow this news has brought to our entire family. As per the initial information reaching us, Colonel Javaid had gone for his routine morning walk alone when fate intervened in a most unexpected manner. He was found lying unconscious by a passerby who, with a gesture of humanity, searched his mobile phone and located one of his children’s contact numbers. Through this, the tragic development was immediately conveyed to his household. Despite all possible efforts, his condition could not be reversed, and Allah’s will was fulfilled. At about 1915 hours this evening, my son in Rawalpindi confirmed the heartbreaking reality to me. He further informed that the...

By  Syed Shamsuddin On social media recently, I came across a thoughtful line: “A patch of yard left wild is more than habitat…. it is a living fabric of pollination, pest control, clear water, and carbon storage that works for FREE year after year.” This simple but profound expression captures the essence of what small, untended patches of nature can do. It is particularly meaningful when seen in the context of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), where barely one percent of land remains under agriculture and forest cover has reportedly shrunk to a mere 3.58 percent . In such a fragile, high-altitude region, every strip of wild land, every grove of trees, every unmanaged meadow becomes a crucial lifeline. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is a landscape of extremes: soaring peaks, deep river gorges and fragile high-altitude valleys. That beauty conceals a harsh ecological reality — only a tiny fraction of GB’s vast territory is suitable for farming and an e...

By   Syed Shamsuddin The tragic news of a devastating accident at Havelian, Hazara Division, on September 9, 2025, has cast a deep shadow of grief across the region and among all who knew the victims. Among the five precious lives lost was Engr. Maisum Qasimi — a name synonymous with brilliance, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to intellectual and social causes. His sudden departure has created a void that words struggle to fill. Maisum was not only a distinguished telecom engineer and a proud alumnus of the second batch of Cadet College Skardu — a classmate of both my son and nephew — but also a rare intellectual voice whose writings on the issues confronting Gilgit-Baltistan carried depth, precision, and eloquence. He possessed the uncommon ability to rise above rhetoric and articulate truth with clarity, balance, and conviction. For many, his thoughtful contributions served as a compass, inspiring reflection, awareness, and a sense of collective responsibility. Just about...

By   Syed Shamsuddin ACROSS the world, people are rethinking how homes should be built in the face of climate stress. Unfortunately, in our part of the world—especially in Gilgit-Baltistan—we have turned our houses into concrete fortresses. These structures, far from providing comfort, often feel like furnaces in the summer and icehouses in the winter. The challenge is not simply architectural—it is rooted in geography and demography. Gilgit-Baltistan is a highly mountainous region where summers can be scorching in the valleys and winters bitterly cold. Traditional timber-and-stone houses once offered some natural insulation, but rapid population growth and scarcity of land have forced people to abandon those methods. In crowded valleys, families are compelled to build upward, creating compact, concrete dwellings. While land-efficient, these “cement-and-iron boxes” intensify climatic extremes, making life inside intolerable for much of the year. A Proposal Worth Considering I...

By   Syed Shamsuddin On April 6, 2025, I set out on a journey unlike any I had taken before—one that carried me from the rugged valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan to the highly developed and technologically advanced United States. It was a passage from a land where life follows the rhythm of rivers, the bloom of apricot blossoms, and the whisper of Karakoram winds, to a nation defined by skyscrapers, Silicon Valley innovations, and an unrelenting drive toward the future. This was not simply a voyage to another country; it was a deeply personal odyssey—a quest to reunite with my son, a professional civil engineer, in San Francisco. For a traveler coming from Washington, San Francisco lies at the far edge of the continent, turning my journey into a true coast-to-coast experience. The distance, both physical and symbolic, only heightened the weight and anticipation of this moment. Leaving Gilgit-Baltistan meant stepping out of mountain-locked valleys into bustling airports, across vast ocean...

By   Syed Shamsuddin PERCHED on the roof of the world, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is home to some of the planet’s loftiest peaks and the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar regions. This breathtaking landscape, however, is also one of the most climate-fragile frontiers on Earth. In recent years, the region has experienced unsettling changes: unseasonal rains, cloudbursts of alarming intensity, and devastating Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). These events are no longer rare anomalies; they are becoming a new normal that threatens lives, livelihoods, cultural heritage, and vital infrastructure such as the Karakoram Highway. The Changing Landscape Rising temperatures are accelerating glacier melt and altering the timing of river flows, creating both sudden flood risks and seasonal water shortages. Winter rains at higher elevations, storms in off-seasons, and cloudbursts that overwhelm local systems are disrupting the traditional calendars of farming and daily life. ...