Gilgit-Baltistan

گلگت بلتستان Gilgit-Baltistan special territory
Basic data
Country	Pakistan
Capital	Gilgit
surface	72,496 km²
Residents	1,301,000 (2013)
density	18 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	PK-GB
Website	gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk

35.5 75.5Coordinates: 35 ° 30 ' N , 75 ° 30' E

Gilgit-Baltistan ( Urdu گلگت بلتستان, Gilgit-Baltistan ), until August 29, 2009 just north areas ( English Northern Areas , Urdu شمالی علاقہ جات, Šumālī 'ilāqajāt ) is a Pakistani special territory under federal administration in the far north of the country. It is not a province of Pakistan, but part of the disputed Kashmir region between China , India and Pakistan .

location

Gilgit-Baltistan borders the semi-autonomous region of Asad Kashmir , which belongs to Pakistan , the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , the Afghan province of Badachschan , the autonomous region of Xinjiang , which belongs to China, and the Indian Union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir (clockwise, starting in the south) . The border with India is the Line of Control (LOC), which was established by the United Nations ( UNCIP / UNMOGIP ) in 1949 . It was fought over again in all Kashmir wars , most recently the Kargil War (Third Kashmir War ), a high-mountain war with many losses with combat zones up to 5000 meters above sea level, but in the 1999 armistice they reverted to the 1972 level. Since then there has been tension with individual incidents flaring up.

Districts, administrative division

Gilgit-Baltistan is currently divided into ten districts, which are spread over two divisions.

On April 14, 2015, the then Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif declared the formation of four new districts in Gilgit-Baltistan: Hunza and Nagar (by splitting up from Hunza-Nagar ) and Kharmang and Shigar (by splitting off from Skardu ).

The following are the statistical data from Gilgit-Baltistan from 2013:

Administrative structure (as of 2008)

division	District	Area in km²	Pop. 1998	Inhab. 2013 †	Administrative seat
Baltistan					Skardu
	Ghanche	08,531	090,000	108,000	Khaplu
	Skardu	19,697	219,000	305,000	Skardu
Gilgit					Gilgit
	Astore	05,411	072,000	114,000	Gorikot
	Diamir	07,234	135,000	214,000	Chilas
	Ghizer	12,381	121,000	190,000	Gahkuch
	Gilgit	04,208	148,000	222,000	Gilgit
	Hunza-Nagar	15,034	099,000	148,000	Aliabad

all in all		72,496	884,000	1,301,000	Gilgit

†: respected values

landscape

Map of Kashmir (2004)

Gilgit-Baltistan is divided into the two divisions Gilgit in the northwest and Baltistan in the southeast.

The region belongs mainly to the Karakoram , with K2 (Godwin Austen, 8611 m ), Gasherbrum Group ( Hidden Peak : 8080 m , Broad Peak : 8051 m , Gasherbrum II : 8034 m ), Distaghil Sar ( 7885 m ), Masherbrum ( 7821 m ), Rakaposhi ( 7788 m ), the northwest to the Hindu Kush , highest peaks are Tirich Mir ( 7690 m ), Istor-o-Nal ( 7403 m ). The southern part is traversed by the upper reaches of the Indus , and the mountains south of it are already part of the Himalayas , with the Nanga Parbat ( 8125 m ) as the main peak. In total, 5 of the 14 eight-thousanders on earth are in the region within today's limits .

The area has the typical vegetation of the high mountains . The valleys are deeply cut. The Indus valley leaves the region at an altitude of 1000 m , at Jalipur, only 20 km from the eight-thousander Nanga Parbat, it is 1400 m , when entering the region near the Indian Kargil it is 2400 m . Other important valleys are that of the Gilgit , a tributary of the Indus from the Hindu Kush, and that of its tributary Hunza , which comes from the north of the Khunjerab Pass ( 4733 m ) on the border with China.

Population and traffic

The settlement is very thin. The only significant city is Gilgit on the Gilgit River . The main languages spoken are Urdu , Shina and Balti . The majority of the residents are Muslims , with the Shiites making up the majority, while Pakistan as a whole is more Sunni . In addition, Ismaili and Sufi traditions are strongly represented.

The Karakoram Highway runs through the northern regions, leading from Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass, through the Hunza Valley, the lower Gilgit, the Indus Valley and on to Havelian between Islamabad and Peshawar .