The Himalayan orogeny is defined as the India-Eurasia collision and the successive continental subduction, as well as the induced tectonics, magmatism, metamorphism and plateau uplift. As a result, the distinct Himalayan orogeny eventually led to the formation of the great Himalaya-Tibetan orogen, which has become a natural laboratory for investigating the theories of plate tectonics and continental geodynamics, and a profound driving force for Asian resources and environments. However, the initial collision between the Indian and Eurasian continents and the destiny of the subducted continents remain the most fundamental and critical scientific issues related to building the theory of the continental geodynamics and the formation and evolution of the Himalayan orogen.

The collision timing is the most debatable topic since last two decades. The array of collision age exist that range from 74 Ma to as young as 25 Ma. It is more complex in the northwestern Himalaya, where Kohistan Island arc is trapped between Indian and Eurasian plate. The collision of Kohistan Island arc first with Indian or Eurasia is also controversial. Therefore, in the proposed project, an attempt will be made to address the issues related to collision timing of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the northwestern Himalaya. Keeping in the view the collision related issues, we proposed to study the sections to the north in Chitral Valley and along west in Sulaiman fold-thrust belt, to constrain the India-Eurasia collision timing in the north and west. By constraining the collision timing differences from north to west, we will be able to understand the collision process in the Himalaya and will provide an updated model for collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the northwestern Himalaya.