From the Indus Valley to Deosai: How an NGO in Skardu Can Be Reached Remotely

Skardu spreads across a wide, sandy stretch of the Indus valley, surrounded by bare peaks and cold desert. It is the main town of Baltistan and the starting point for expeditions to K2 and the Deosai plains. Visitors see the lakes and the fort; residents know the long winters, the cost of fuel and how quickly a family can fall behind. This page is for anyone in Skardu, Shigar, Kharmang or the villages along the Indus who is searching for an NGO in Skardu.

Peace and Humanity Welfare Organization (PHWO) can receive your request, although it has no office, centre or staff member in Baltistan. PHWO’s one office is in Larkana, Sindh. Balti families send their applications from a mobile phone, through a free PHWO account or through a volunteer, and never pay anything. Every file is examined; support is arranged when the need proves genuine and PHWO is able to meet it, and no outcome can be promised.

Skardu District: population and schooling

Skardu District had 278,885 people in the 2023 Census, compared with 260,836 in 2017, over roughly 10,168 square kilometres of mountain and valley. Around 71 percent of people aged ten and above were literate (Gilgit-Baltistan at a Glance 2025, P&D Department GB). Households are large, with about seven members on average.

Balti, a language close to Tibetan, is spoken in almost every home, and Urdu is used in offices and schools. Shina is heard in parts of Rondu, so volunteers can meet requests in more than one tongue.

Why life can be hard in Baltistan

For five or six months of the year, Skardu is bitterly cold. Wood, coal and gas for heating eat up a large share of a poor family’s budget, and electricity is often short just when it is needed most. Fresh food has to travel a long way by road or air, so prices rise in winter. Elderly people living alone, widows and families caring for a disabled member feel this squeeze first, because they have the fewest ways to earn extra cash before the snow comes.

Much summer income depends on tourists and mountaineering teams. Porters, guides, drivers and cooks earn in a few busy months and then wait. A bad season, a road closure or an injury on a glacier can wipe out a year’s plans. Glacial melt and flash floods also threaten fields and irrigation channels in several valleys; national disaster alerts are published by the NDMA.

PHWO hears most often, from every part of Pakistan, about food, debt and the need for a laptop or phone to study or work. In Skardu, students at the University of Baltistan and young people hoping to work online through the winter make the last of these especially relevant.

Applying to an NGO in Skardu from your village

Use the Request help form, or message PHWO from your free PHWO account. Tell PHWO who is in your family, how you earn in summer and in winter, and what you need right now. Along with this, add a live photo of yourself. Pictures of bills, loan records, fee slips or a doctor’s prescription make the picture clearer.

If the connection in Shigar or Kharmang is poor, prepare everything and send it when you reach Skardu town. A volunteer may phone to check a few points. PHWO takes no fee at any step, and no one has permission to ask you for money in its name.

Help with family court matters in Skardu

Civil, criminal and family cases from the district are heard by the courts in Skardu, with appeals going to the Chief Court of Gilgit-Baltistan. Through Free legal aid, PHWO connects people with volunteer advocates who read their documents and explain the law. Most of these requests involve family life: a wife wanting khula, unpaid dower, children’s maintenance or a custody quarrel.

No FIR is needed to ask for advice. Mention any custody issue or early hearing date, since those are considered first. A volunteer may or may not be able to appear in court for you; that depends on who is free at the time.

Other public services around Skardu

• District Headquarters Hospital Skardu, the main government hospital for Baltistan.
• 15 for police, and 1122 where rescue cover is available.
• The BISP office in Skardu for Kafaalat cash and school stipends; send your CNIC by SMS to 8171 or visit the BISP site.
• University of Baltistan for questions about fee concessions and scholarships (uobs.edu.pk).
• Skardu’s zakat and ushr committee, which pays out state zakat to registered deserving people.
• The Skardu district bar, for finding an advocate locally.

Supporting Baltistan as a donor or volunteer

Many Balti families have sons and daughters working in Islamabad, Karachi or abroad. They, and anyone else who cares about the region, can give through Donate, in money or in goods such as warm clothes. PHWO hands on Zakat and Sadaqah fully to eligible people. You can also pick one verified household through Sponsor a case.

Volunteers are needed as well, lawyers in Pakistan above all, and fundraisers at home or abroad. Some PHWO volunteers already live overseas. Register through Volunteer; you will get a certificate, a letter of appreciation and an experience letter for your time.

Public services in Skardu you can also use

• District and Sessions Courts SkarduCivil, criminal and family cases
• Chief Court of Gilgit-BaltistanAppeals
• District Headquarters Hospital SkarduMain government hospital for Baltistan
• PoliceDial 15
• BISP office SkarduSMS CNIC to 8171
• University of BaltistanScholarships and fee concessions
• District Zakat and Ushr Committee SkarduGovernment zakat

These are public or independent services, listed to help you. They are not part of PHWO.

Frequently asked questions