Trans-Karakoram Tract
Shaksgam Tract | |
|---|---|
  Trans-Karakoram Tract Location of the Trans-Karakoram Tract within the Southern Xinjiang region is disputed by India | |
| Coordinates: 36°01′33″N 76°38′46″E / 36.02583°N 76.64611°E | |
| Administering state | China |
| Autonomous Region | Xinjiang |
| Prefecture | Kashgar |
| County | Taxkorgan and Kargilik |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,180 km2 (2,000 sq mi) |
The Trans-Karakoram Tract (Chinese: 喀喇昆仑走廊; pinyin: Kālǎkūnlún zǒuláng), also known as the Shaksgam Tract (Urdu: شکسگام, romanized: Shaksgām), is an area of approximately 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi)[1] north of the Karakoram watershed, including the Shaksgam valley.[2][3] The tract is administered by China as part of its Taxkorgan and Yecheng counties in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Although the Shaksgam tract was originally under the control of India following the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India in 1947, Pakistan took control of the region after the First India-Pakistan War and subsequently ceded it to China in 1963 through the Sino-Pakistan Agreement, and a border based on actual ground positions was recognized as the international border by China and Pakistan.[4][5] The Shaksgam Tract, along with the entire Kashmir region, is claimed by India.[6][7] Further, New Delhi has never accepted the China-Pakistan boundary pact, asserting that Islamabad "unlawfully" attempted to cede the area to Beijing.[8]
Most of the tract is composed of the Shaksgam Valley and was formerly administered as part of Shigar, a district (formerly a tehsil) in the Baltistan region. A polo ground in Shaksgam was built by the Amacha Royal family of Shigar, and the Rajas of Shigar used to invite the Amirs of Hotan to play polo there.[9] Most of the names of the mountains, lakes, rivers and passes are in Balti/Ladakhi, suggesting that this land had been part of Baltistan/Ladakh region for a long time.
The tract is one of the most inhospitable areas of the world, with some of the highest mountains. Bounded by the Kunlun Mountains in the north, and the Karakoram peaks to the south, including Broad Peak, K2 and Gasherbrum, on the southeast it is adjacent to the highest battlefield in the world on the Siachen Glacier region which is controlled by India.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Trivei, Abishek (8 July 2019). "Why the 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement Is Unlawful in Light of the Recent ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Chagos Archipelago, 2019". www.jurist.org. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
- ^ Snedden, Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris 2015, p. 238.
- ^ Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict 2003, p. 101.
- ^ Noorani, A. G. (20 October 2006). "Facing the truth". Frontline.
The Shaksgam Valley was never part of Kashmir and the northern and eastern boundaries of Kashmir were undefined
- ^ "Signing with the Red Chinese". Time (magazine). 15 March 1963. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ R Chandrashekhar (2017). THE GILGIT AND BALTISTAN REGIONS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE (PDF). New Delhi: Xtreme Office Aids Pvt. Ltd. p. 63. ISBN 978-93-84492-36-6.
An area that is legally part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir has since 1963 been administered by China as a part of Kargilik County and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in the Kashgar Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Prior to 1963 the Shaksgam tract had been administered as a part of Shigar.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)[permanent dead link] - ^ Complete Atlas Of The World (3 ed.). Penguin Random House. 2016. p. 238 – via Internet Archive.
(claimed by India)
- ^ "India lodges protest with China over its infra development in Shaksgam valley". The Indian Express. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Senge Sering, Polo Diplomacy as Part of Indo-Pak CBMs: Any Takers?, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, 1 December 2011.