Gilgit-Baltistan

"Northern Areas" redirects here. For the wider geographical region in Pakistan, see Northern Pakistan. For the location in South Australia, see Northern Areas Council.

Gilgit-Baltistan
گلگت بلتستان
Region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory
Map of the disputed Kashmir region showing areas of control by India, Pakistan, and China
A map of the disputed Kashmir region with the two Pakistan-administered areas shaded in sage-green.[1]
Map
Interactive map of Gilgit-Baltistan
Coordinates: 35°21′N 75°54′E / 35.35°N 75.9°E / 35.35; 75.9
Administering countryPakistan
Established1 November 1948 (Gilgit-Baltistan Independence Day)
CapitalGilgit
Largest citySkardu[3]
Government
[6]
 • TypeAdministrative territory
 • BodyGovernment of Gilgit-Baltistan
 • GovernorSyed Mehdi Shah
 • Chief MinisterGulbar Khan
 • Chief SecretaryAhmed Ali Mirza (BPS 21-PAS)[4]
 • LegislatureGilgit-Baltistan Assembly
 • High CourtSupreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan[5]
Area
 • Total
72,496 km2 (27,991 sq mi)
 [7]
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
1,492,924[2]
Time zoneUTC+05:00 (PKT)
ISO 3166 codePK-GB
LanguagesBalti, Shina, Wakhi, Burushaski, Khowar, Domaki, Purgi, Changthang, Brokskat, Ladakhi, Urdu (administrative)
HDI (2019)0.592 Increase[8]
Medium
Assembly seats33[9]
Divisions3
Districts14[10]
Tehsils31[11]
Union Councils113
Websitegilgitbaltistan.gov.pk

Gilgit-Baltistan (/ˌɡɪlɡɪt ˌbɔːltɪˈstɑːn, -stæn/; Urdu: گِلْگِت بَلْتِسْتان [12] listenⓘ),[a] formerly known as the Northern Areas,[13] is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959.[1] It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang region of China to the east and northeast, and the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the southeast.

The region, together with Azad Kashmir in the southwest, is grouped and referred to by the United Nations and other international organisations as "Pakistan-administered Kashmir".[note 1] Gilgit-Baltistan is six times larger than Azad Kashmir in terms of geographical area.[18]

The territory of present-day Gilgit-Baltistan became a separate administrative unit in 1970 under the name "Northern Areas". It was formed by the amalgamation of the former Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan district, and several small former princely states, the largest of which were Hunza and Nagar.[19] In 2009, the region was renamed "Gilgit-Baltistan" and granted limited autonomy through the Self-Governance Order signed by then Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, a move that was reportedly intended to also empower the territory's people; however, scholars state that the real power rests with the governor and not with the chief minister or elected assembly.[20][21] Much of the population of Gilgit-Baltistan reportedly wants the territory to become integrated with Pakistan proper as a fifth province, and opposes integration with the rest of the Kashmir region.[22][23] The Pakistani government had rejected calls from the territory for provincial status on the grounds that granting such a request would jeopardise Pakistan's demands for the entire Kashmir conflict to be resolved according to all related United Nations resolutions.[24] However, in November 2020, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan announced that Gilgit-Baltistan would attain provisional provincial status after the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election.[25][26][27]

Gilgit-Baltistan covers an area of over 72,971 km2 (28,174 sq mi)[7] and is highly mountainous. It had an estimated population of 1.249 million people in 2013[28][29] (estimated to be 1.8 million in 2015 (Shahid Javed Burki (2015)). Its capital city is Gilgit with an estimated population of 216,760. The economy is dominated by agriculture and the tourism industry.[30] The region is home to five of the 14 eight-thousanders, including K2, and has more than fifty mountain peaks above 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). Three of the world's longest glaciers outside of Earth's polar regions are found in Gilgit-Baltistan. The main tourism activities are trekking and mountaineering, and this industry has been growing in importance throughout the region.

  1. ^ a b The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (e), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (h) through (i) below, "held" is also considered politicised usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (j) below).
    (a) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 13 August 2019, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
    (b) Pletcher, Kenneth, Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, archived from the original on 2 April 2019, retrieved 16 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
    (c) "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 6 November 2019 C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
    (d) Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5, archived from the original on 17 January 2023, retrieved 12 June 2023 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
    (e) Talbot, Ian (2016), A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas, Yale University Press, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-0-300-19694-8 Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.";
    (f) Skutsch, Carl (2015) [2007], "China: Border War with India, 1962", in Ciment, James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II (2nd ed.), London and New York: Routledge, p. 573, ISBN 978-0-7656-8005-1, The situation between the two nations was complicated by the 1957–1959 uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. Refugees poured across the Indian border, and the Indian public was outraged. Any compromise with China on the border issue became impossible. Similarly, China was offended that India had given political asylum to the Dalai Lama when he fled across the border in March 1959. In late 1959, there were shots fired between border patrols operating along both the ill-defined McMahon Line and in the Aksai Chin.
    (g) Clary, Christopher (2022), The Difficult Politics of Peace: Rivalry in Modern South Asia, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 109, ISBN 9780197638408, Territorial Dispute: The situation along the Sino-Indian frontier continued to worsen. In late July (1959), an Indian reconnaissance patrol was blocked, "apprehended," and eventually expelled after three weeks in custody at the hands of a larger Chinese force near Khurnak Fort in Aksai Chin. ... Circumstances worsened further in October 1959, when a major class at Kongka Pass in eastern Ladakh led to nine dead and ten captured Indian border personnel, making it by far the most serious Sino-Indian class since India's independence.
    (h) Bose, Sumantra (2009), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, pp. 294, 291, 293, ISBN 978-0-674-02855-5 Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million.), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control."
    (i) Fisher, Michael H. (2018), An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge University Press, p. 166, ISBN 978-1-107-11162-2 Quote: "Kashmir's identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised "Line of Control" still separating Pakistani-held Azad ("Free") Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";
    (j) Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-84904-621-3 Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'."
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference citypopulation.de was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Skardu". Skardu. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  4. ^ Nagri, Jamil (26 October 2023). "Gilgit-Baltistan gets new chief secretary". Dawn. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Supreme Appellate Court GB". sacgb.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ Sökefeld, Martin (2015), "At the margins of Pakistan: Political relationships between Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir", in Ravi Kalia (ed.), Pakistan's Political Labyrinths: Military, Society and Terror, Routledge, p. 177, ISBN 978-1-317-40544-3: "While AJK formally possesses most of the government institutions of a state, GB now formally has the institutions of a Pakistani province. However, AJK remains a quasi-state and GB a quasi-province because neither territory enjoys the full rights and powers connected with the respective political formations. In both areas, Pakistan retains ultimate control."
  7. ^ a b "UNPO: Gilgit Baltistan: Impact Of Climate Change On Biodiversity". unpo.org. 2 November 2009. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  9. ^ Legislative Assembly will have directly elected 24 members, besides six women and three technocrats. "Gilgit Baltistan: New Pakistani Package or Governor Rule Archived 25 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine" 3 September 2009, The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference PT2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Gilgit-Baltistan at a Glance, 2020" (PDF). PND GB. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2021.
  12. ^ "گلگت بلتستان اسمبلی کادوسرا اجلاس". Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly (in Urdu). 19 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. ^ Hinman, Bonnie (15 September 2011), We Visit Pakistan, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., p. 41, ISBN 978-1-61228-103-2, archived from the original on 21 July 2023, retrieved 20 June 2016
  14. ^ a b c Snedden 2013, pp. 2–3.
  15. ^ Chandra, Bipan; Mukherjee, Aditya; Mukherje, Mridula (2008). India since Independence. Penguin Books India. p. 416. ISBN 978-0143104094.
  16. ^ Bose, Sumantra (2009). Contested lands: Israel-Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia, Cyprus and Sri Lanka. Harvard University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0674028562.
  17. ^ Behera 2007, p. 66.
  18. ^ Dutta, Prabhash K. (25 March 2017). "Gilgit-Baltistan: Story of how region 6 times the size of PoK passed on to Pakistan". India Today. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  19. ^ Shahid Javed Burki 2015.
  20. ^ In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, residents see experiment with autonomy as 'illusion' Archived 20 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Christian Science Monitor, 28 November 2011
  21. ^ Sering, Senge H. (2010), "Constitutional Impasse in Gilgit-Baltistan (Jammu and Kashmir): The Fallout", Strategic Analysis, 34 (3): 354–358, doi:10.1080/09700161003658998, ISSN 0970-0161, S2CID 154847994, Instead of the chief minister, the order rests all administrative, political and judicial authority with the governor, which makes him the supreme authority and portrays the assembly as a toothless tiger. At best, the order legitimises Pakistan's occupation and claims political rights for the locals without changing the power equation.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schofield was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Fifth province". Fifth province | The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  26. ^ "Pakistani PM says he will upgrade status of part of Kashmir, angering India". Pakistani PM says he will upgrade status of part of Kashmir, angering India | Reuters. Reuters. 1 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Gilgit-Baltistan to get provisional provincial status post-election: PM Imran". Gilgit-Baltistan to get provisional provincial status post-election: PM Imran. The News International. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  28. ^ Geography & Demography of Gilgit Baltistan Archived 5 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Gilgit Baltistan Scouts, retrieved 30 March 2020.
  29. ^ Under Pakistan Rule, Gilgit-Baltistan Most Neglected, Backward Area in South Asia, Says New Book Archived 30 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine, News18, 18 August 2019.
  30. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (22 December 2016). "Here is why Pakistan is more diverse than you thought". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.


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