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Gilgit-Baltistan

Gilgit-Baltistan
گلگت بلتستان
Administrative Territory of Pakistan
Aqua Ambulance.jpg
K2 2006b.jpg
Passu, Gilgit-Baltistan (cropped).jpg Skardu Cold Desert (cropped).jpg
Deosai Nauman.jpg
Flag of Gilgit-Baltistanگلگت بلتستان
Flag
Official seal of Gilgit-Baltistanگلگت بلتستان
Seal
Nickname(s): GB
Gilgit-Baltistan  is shown in red. Rest of Pakistan is shown in white. The Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir is shown by hatching.
Gilgit-Baltistan is shown in red. Rest of Pakistan is shown in white. The Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir is shown by hatching.
Coordinates: 35°21′N 75°54′E / 35.35°N 75.9°E / 35.35; 75.9Coordinates: 35°21′N 75°54′E / 35.35°N 75.9°E / 35.35; 75.9
Country  Pakistan
Established 1 July 1970
Capital Gilgit
Largest city Skardu
Government
 • Type Self-governing territory of Pakistan
 • Body Legislative assembly
 • Governor Mir Ghanzafar Ali
 • Chief Minister Hafeezur Rahman
Area
 • Total 72,971 km2 (28,174 sq mi)
 
Population (2015)
 • Total 1,800,000
Time zone PKT (UTC+5)
ISO 3166 code PK-GB
Main languages Balti, Shina, Burushaski
Assembly seats 33
Districts 10
Towns 9
Website gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk
Provincial symbols of Gilgit-Baltistan (unofficial)
Provincial animal Yak YakRace.jpg
Provincial bird Shaheen falcon Vándorsólyom.JPG
Provincial tree Quercus ilex Quercus ilex.002 - Monfrague.JPG
Provincial flower Aquilegia pubiflora (common) Aquilegia alpina1JUSA.jpg

Gilgit-Baltistan (Urdu: گلگت بلتستان‎), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is the northernmost administrative territory of Pakistan.

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 state of Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast. Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the region that is disputed by India and Pakistan, along with Azad Kashmir, Aksai Chin, the Shakshagam Valley, and Jammu, Ladakh, and the Valley of Kashmir.

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 larger of which being Hunza and Nagar. In 2009, it was granted limited autonomy and renamed to Gilgit-Baltistan via the Self-Governance Order signed by Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, which also aimed to empower the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. However, scholars state that the real power rests with the governor and not with chief minister or elected assembly. The population of Gilgit-Baltistan wants to be merged into Pakistan as a separate fifth province and opposes integration with Kashmir. The Pakistani government has rejected Gilgit-Baltistani calls for integration with Pakistan on the grounds that it would jeopardise its demands for the whole Kashmir issue to be resolved according to UN resolutions.


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