Rockfall is a natural mountain hazard posing a severe threat to people, infrastructure, and vehicles along the transportation corridors. In this research, the standard Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS) is slightly modified for the mountainous terrains of Pakistan through the quantification of animal activity along the highways. In the modified Rockfall Hazard and Rating System for Pakistan (RHRSP), animal activity is scored based on permanent and random animal tracks, shallow and higher altitudes, and shoulder width. The model is applied along the Karakoram Highway (KKH), which traverses a suture between Besham and Dasu (≈78 km), for Rockfall hazard and risk assessment mapping. An inventory of rockfalls, topples, and debris slides is compiled at 30 stations. Results show that rockfalls are mostly of the wedge and topple type failures. Fifty-seven percent of the area falls under the very-high to high hazard zone, 18% under moderate hazard, and 25% covers the low to very low hazard zone. Sixty-seven percent of the stretch is at very-high to high risk, distributed from Dubair to Dasu. The main reason for this risk is associated with narrow road width and limited shoulder width for vehicles. The RHRSP model is also applicable for other highways with the same geological and morphological settings.

This study reports the detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the post collisional Chitarwatta Formation, exposed along the western margin of the Indian plate at the Sulaiman fold–thrust belt (SFB), Pakistan. The Chitarwatta Formation overlies the shallow marine carbonate sequence of the Kirthar Formation and represents an Oligocene–Miocene transitional marine sequence. The sequence consists of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. The sandstone consists predominantly (79–82%) of quartz grains. The framework grains are sub-angular to sub-rounded and show recycled orogenic provenance. The detrital zircon U–Pb age data show the dominant population between 390 Ma and ~1100 Ma, which is ~70% of the total population. In addition to this, a significant percentage of the younger detrital ages exist between ~40 Ma and ~120 Ma. This younger age cluster indicates the northern sources, including the Kohistan–Ladakh arc (KLA) and Karakoram block (KB), whereas the provenance for the 390–1100 Ma detrital zircon is likely the Higher Himalaya (HH), with contribution from Tethyan Himalaya (TH). This post-collisional scenario suggests that the Chitarwatta Formation received detritus from the northern sources through a drainage system, named as the Indus drainage system. A comparison with the coeval units in the north (Murree Formation, Dagshai Formation, and Dumre Formation) suggests that the sediments may have been delivered through the same drainage system that shares similar detritus. Relying on the contribution of the HH detritus, we propose that the HH uplifted during the Oligocene–Miocene along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and provided detritus to the foreland basin.

This study reports on the detrital zircon provenance of the sandstones of Early Paleocene Ranikot Formation exposed in the Fort Munro section, Sulaiman fold-thrust belt, Pakistan. This marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sequence. The detrital zircon U-Pb ages reported are mainly clustered around ~460–1100 Ma, ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma. The age cluster ~460–1100 Ma is mainly matched well with the Tethyan Himalaya. However, the age clusters ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma matched fairly with the lesser Himalayas and Higher Himalayas. In addition, the sandstone petrography suggests the craton interior provenance. The two younger Cretaceous zircon ages may be derived from the Tethyan Himalaya volcanic rocks as supported by a high (>0.3) Th/U ratio. Furthermore, the absence of the ophiolitic component ~115–178 Ma suggests that the western ophiolite may be emplaced at the same time as Ranikot Formation deposited or later. Moreover, the absence of the Eurasian (zircon with ages <100 Ma) in the Ranikot Formation excludes the possibility of the early collision along the western margin, as reported in earlier studies.

This study presents the first detrital-zircon U–Pb age dataset from the Lower Siwalik equivalent (Uzdha Pasha Formation) in the western Sulaiman Fold Belt and compares it with published records from other parts of the Himalayan foreland basin. Three sandstone samples yield 197 concordant ages. The spectra are multimodal and dominated by Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic ages (~1000–400 Ma), with subordinate older populations and a minor Mesozoic–Cenozoic component (<145 Ma). Probability–density comparisons in DZstats show the strongest correspondence between the Uzdha Pasha Formation and the Murree Formation (cross-correlation = 0.60, similarity = 0.91, likeness = 0.71). Bootstrap resampling yields 95% intervals of 0.710–0.812 for cross-correlation, 0.868–0.920 for similarity, and 0.647–0.726 for likeness. Bootstrap analyses show that the preference for the Murree Formation strengthens with increasing sample size. However, KS and Kuiper tests distinguish the Uzdha Pasha spectrum from all comparison datasets, indicating differences in age-population proportions and distribution shape. Multidimensional scaling further documents variable relationships among the studied and reference datasets. Although the age distributions are compatible with contributions from several Himalayan source regions, overlapping age signatures, variable zircon fertility, sediment recycling, and hydraulic sorting prevent unique estimation of source proportions from U–Pb ages alone. Consistent with this limitation, a four-source mixture model provides a poor fit (R² = 0.26). The minor young zircon population is compatible with sediment connectivity to distal Eurasian or Trans-Himalayan arc-bearing sources, but direct axial transport, recycling of older foreland deposits, reworking of intermediate sedimentary units, and transient drainage capture remain viable alternatives. The dataset therefore provides a new western constraint on along-strike variability in Lower Siwalik provenance and is consistent with previously proposed spatially heterogeneous models of Himalayan foreland-basin development.