Articles, Updates and News on, for and from the Ismaili jamaat
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Pamirs/Badakhshan
The flute is often played in songs from the Ismaili Pamir regions. Some types of *nay* are played like a traditional western flute, from the side. The examples below are of end-blown flutes (much like a recorder). Often the *nay* is used for the traditional performance, *falaki*.
The Rubob/Rubab hails from central Afghanistan and derives its name from an Arabic word meaning 'played with a bow'. With slight variations from region to region, it is a 17 or 18 stringed mulberry wood instrument that shares similarities with the lute. It is a key part of many classical Persian compositions, and is even the national instrument of Afghanistan.
[News agencies are reporting](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/21/us-tajikistan-floods-idUSKCN0PV1MV20150721) 7 dead, 5 missing, 10 000 forced to evacuate and over $100 million worth of damage due to recent flooding in Tajikistan. The worst hit area is Gorno-Badakshan, home to a large, semi-autonomous Ismaili population.
Similarly, over 300 000 have been displaced in Chitral, Pakistan.
**Population**: 30 million
**Number of Ismailis**: Estimates range between 200 000 to 2 million
**Key Area**: Badakhshan, Baghlan Province
*Reuters* are reporting "chaotic scenes" as aid is delivered to the scene of last Friday's devastating landslide in Afghan Badakhshan. Armed militia are allegedly re-directing relief supplies to their own villages.
Please continue to pray for the 4000 survivors and displaced villagers.
On Friday a huge landslide devastated a village in the remote north-eastern corner of Afghanistan. The BBC are reporting over 2500 buried alive and more than 4000 displaced.
You can read and watch the latest from the BBC *here*
**Population**: 1.35 billion (22 million Xinjiang)
**Number of Ismailis**: 40 000
**Key Area**: Xinjiang Province - The most western of China's provinces, incorporating the Chinese Pamir Mountains. Home to the Uyghurs as well as the Chinese 'Tajiks'. Key towns are Tashkurgan and Kashgar, along with the provincial capital, Urumqi.
**Population**: 8 million
**Number of Ismailis**: 275 000
**Key Area**: The Pamir Mountains - A remote, semi-autonomous, ethnically distinct area of the country. Comprised of several different valleys, each with its own language, the area is home to a little over 200 000 people, mostly Ismaili.
