آج وہ رشکِ قمر دل کا جو مہمان ہوا
روح سیراب ہوئی زیست کا سامان ہوا
دیکھ گل رنگ بدن آنکھیں مری کہنے لگیں
حیرتیں حق ہیں وہ جو دیکھ کے حیران ہوا
جانتا ہے وہ سبھی حرفِ جنوں کے قصے
تجھ کو دیکھا تو سخن ساز پریشان ہوا
تیرے سینے میں دھڑکتا ہوا دل ہوں جاناں
یہ الگ بات تری ذات سے انجان ہوا
آئو اس بار فضاؔ ساتھ ٹھکانہ کر لیں
پل دو پل ہی کو سہی دل ترا مہمان ہوا
Allah Almighty, with his power, created the sky, earth and whole universe and provided all the necessities. Therefore, the work of preaching Islam is conferred upon the Ummah of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). There are the people who had been taught the teachings of Islam directly by Holy Prophet and they preached Islam in the same way as they were taught. They practiced all the teachings in their lives. Sahaba R.A, for preaching Islam, went to the east, west, north, south, Hind, Sindh and the corners of the world. As a result of their efforts, almost half of the world got the message of Islam. Tabaeen consisted of many people, in the light of Quran and Sunnah, conveyed the message of Islam throughout the world. In the same way, another group of people named Tab Tabaeen became prepared to spread the universal message of Islam. They didn't ignore any sacrifice to uplift the spirit of Islam. With their struggle, many great people like saints, jurist, reader and interpreter of Quran and Hadith born. These people tried their best to convey the message of Islam through written and spoken discourse. Religious books and places were introduced. That process of education, after many years, is still continuing. Presently, many religious places are constructed to preach spiritual guidance in which many great scholars and saints are engaged. History is witness that opponents went to extent possible level to aloof Muslims from teaching, preaching and guiding of lslam. Not only were this but the Muslims intended to end also. In these trials and tribulations, saints took responsibility on their shoulders and continued their struggle on the directed path of oneness, Prophet hood, Ahle Bait and Sahabas against the evil forces. Among such great Family of Pir Pagara is one whose line is continuing in Hind and Sindh. Insha Allah (If God wills) it'll continue till the last day. There is his great religious and social contribution. To convey, his valiant services towards people, research on this personality is dire need of the hour. In history, this research will be advantageous for the researchers to come.
This study attempts to evaluate the impact Karakoram Highway (KKH) on the socio-economic development of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is a vast, mountainous and remote area in the extreme north of Pakistan extend between 340 40’ to 370 0’ North latitude and 720 30’ to 780 0’ East longitude. Geographically, the study area (Gilgit-Baltistan) is bounded in the North-West by Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, China in the North-East, Jammu and Kashmir in the East, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the South-East, whereas the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan in the south and west. The climate of the region is characterized by warm/hot summer and cool/cold winter. The total area of Gilgit-Baltistan is about 72,496 km2. For the purpose of administration, it has been divided into seven districts i.e. Gilgit, Diamer, Hunza-Nagar, Ghanche, Ghizer, Skardu and Astore. Significance of the area is evident from its geographical location as it is the juncture of Central Asia, China and South Asia. However, this important area remained cut off from the rest of the country (Pakistan) until the inception of Karakoram Highway (KKH) in 1978. Their only source of livelihood was local agricultural production which was insufficient for the whole population. Due to scarcity of victuals large number of people faced starvation during the snowy winter season. The idea of constructing this gigantic highway was proposed after the boundary settlement with China in 1963. Construction of KKH started in 1966 aiming at two main objectives; to link the vast area of Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of Pakistan and to develop a land route to China. This study is an attempt to sort out impacts of KKH and to answer the question ‘what are the impacts of KKH on the socio-economic development of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan’. To achieve the task four objectives were designed. Primarily, to explore the growth and development of KKH, secondly, to assess the impact of KKH on the socio-economic condition of Gilgit-Baltistan, thirdly, to find out the future prospects of KKH for the socio-economic development of the study area. To carry out this study, six variables including population, land use and agriculture, education, health, trade and tourism were selected and tested. Keeping in view purpose of the study, it was essential to collect all the necessary data for the achievement of objectives. Data were collected both from primary and secondary sources. Data pertaining to selected variables were collected pre and post KKH as available for the whole area. The collected data were analysed and presented in the form of maps, statistical diagrams and tables. The analysis reveals that after the completion of KKH the inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan took a sigh of relief and positive changes occurred in the overall socio-economic sectors. It was explored from the analysis that the population of the districts along KKH has increased manifold. The agriculture and livestock sector was a traditional source of livelihood, but after the construction of KKH a paradigm shift has been recorded by introducing modern agricultural techniques and motivation for the farmers to cultivate more rewarding cash crops. The analysis further revealed that during 1996 to 2016 land use land cover in the three sample districts located along the KKH has shown radical changes. It was found that area under built-up environment was increased, contrary to this area under farmland decreased. Similarly, positive change has been noted in area under forest cover. It was found from the analysis that after the construction of KKH a rapid progress in education and health sector has been registered. The literacy ratio was rapidly increased from 14.7% in 1981 to 37.8% in 1998 and further increased to 52.0 percent in 2012. However, a recorded twelve-time increase is registered in women education, from 1981 (3%) to 2012 (36%). Nevertheless, the women literacy ratio is still very low in Diamer and Astore districts. Similarly, in Gilgit-Baltistan, the number of Government health institutions has increased. However, the limited number of trained doctors is still an issue to be overcome. The analysis revealed that the performance of maternal and child health services in Gilgit-Baltistan lags behind and appears to have been weak. The analysis revealed that there is expanding trade and commence potentials due to KKH and greater retention of economic value in the local economy is expected to further boost-up. However, it needs special attention of National Highway Authority to take care of its maintenance and to mitigate frequent landslides along the KKH. The study explores that prior to the construction of KKH the latitudes of trade between Pakistan and China through ancient silk route was negligible. However, after the inception of KKH, the trade between Pakistan and China has been boost-up. The recent development in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), where KKH is part of CPEC project provides a land route to China and Gilgit-Baltistan to warm-water of Arabian Sea and expected to further boost-up the trade between China and Pakistan in the years ahead. It was found from the analysis that KKH has opened avenues for the local population. It is high time that the ministry of tourism and culture needs to develop tourism sector on priority basis and un-earthen this precious treasury of Gilgit-Baltistan. It was found from the analysis that prior to the construction of KKH, poor road network, lack of transport facility, absence of hotels and restaurants had been hurdles in promoting tourism. This study, however, provides policy guidelines for promoting socio-economic development of this underdeveloped area.