Untold story” of balawaristan By Abdul Hamid Khan

1

I am taking this opportunity to introduce my country Balawaristan(Pakistan and China occupied Gilgit Baltistan, Chitral and ShenakiKohistan) and enlighten the readers about these regions of great

geographic and strategic signicance. They are referred to as NorthernAreas/sparsely populated mountainous region etc, in the UN documents

but now this area has been introduced by the name Gilgit Baltistan by

Pakistan to mislead the international community. Historically it is known asBrooshaal, Bloristan/Balawaristan and Dardistan.

BRIEF HISTORY

Before 6 BC a well ourishing and prosperous state of Brooshaal

existed under the rule of Brooshaaski Speaking people, who lived

mostly in Yasen (Yasin), Nagir and Hunza. After the decline of the

ancient state of Brooshaal, a new state Bloristan was established by

Balti speaking people, which subsequently spread out from Tibet, Ladakhto Chitral. Today this area is under the occupation of China, Afghanistan andPakistan.

A local famous indigenous king Shri Buddat, extended his kingdom

from Gilgit to Chitral, Yasen (Yasin), Tangir, Darel, Chilas, Gor,Astor, Hunza, Nagir up to Skardu. Later the foreign invaders hatchedconspiracy with some local Darbari Traitors and occupied his

kingdom after killing Shri Buddat and then maligning him, naming him a

2

men-eater, in a bid to control his kingdom forever.The ancient name of this side of Hindu Raaj (Southern Mountain Ranges of

Gilgit Valley) was corrupted from the original Sargin to Gilit, which was

corrupted in to Gilgit with further passage of time.The remains of pre-history stone circles, ancient stone buildings and

Buddhist carvings suggest that Gilgit was once the seat of a Buddhist

or Hindu dynasty, while traces of abandoned cultivation on higher

altitudes point to the fact that the population in early times was far

larger that it is today.

After its reins passed through the hands of many rulers, Sulaiman

Shah, Tham (Ruler) of Yasen (Yasin), conquered Gilgit in 1823. ShahSikandar, the Tham (Ruler) of Nagir and Gilgit, was killed by Gohar Aman,ruler of Yasen (Yasin). Then in 1842, the cousins Bodol and Badang, both

Generals in the forces of Gohar Aman, from Yasen, along with

Sarbaland Khan of Yasen Thooi, defeated Sikh forces led by Mathuradascompletely in Biyahrchi, the frontier between Gilgit and Poonyal.

Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir replaced Sikh forces with Dogra

troops in Gilgit after the treaty of Amritsar in 1846, but their occupation was

short-lived and they were soon driven out from Gilgit by Gohar Aman of

Yasen.When Hunza was attacked in 1848, both Nathu Shah and Karim Khanwere killed, and Gilgit fell to Yasen (Yasin) and Gohar Aman, the Tham(Ruler) of Yasen, repelled Sikh Forces headed by Bop Singh in 1852.Gohar Aman also ruled Gilgit until his death in 1860. The so-calledGilgit Agency was established in 1877 by British government as a bulwark against the advance of Imperial Czar of Russia. It comprised theGilgit Wazarat, Nagir, Hunza, Punyal Jagir, Yasen (Yasin), Kuh-Ghizer,Ishkoman, and Chilas.In 1935, the British leased Gilgit Agency and the states Nagir,Hunza, Yasen (Yasin) and Ishhqamen (Ishkomen) from the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir for 60 years. The leased region was then treated as

part of British India, administered by a British Political Agent in

Gilgit.

Before the division of Indian sub-continent and princely states, theBritish Empire decided to hand over the charge of tiny states such asYasen (Yasin), Punial (Pooya), Gupis (Goopechh), Ishkoman (Ishhqamen),

Gilgit, Nagir, Hunza (Kanjut), Astore and Chilas to the Maharaja of

3

Kashmir. Before 1860 Mestuch (now became a part of Chitral),Gupechh and Ishhqamen were also integral parts of Yasen. After themurder of British spy Col. George Hayward in 1873 by Yasen ruler Mir

Wali, differences broadened between the State of Yasen and the British

government. As a revenge for Hayward’s death, the British dissectedMestuch, Koh Ghezer, Gupis and Ishhqamen from Yasen. Shhenaki

Kohistan up to Koli were also part of Chilas (Gilgit Agency) while

Rundu, Kharmang, Skardu and other semi- independent kingdoms of Ladakh and Astore were placed under the direct control of Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir.The British Empire was also given a part of Yasen from Barenas to Shandoor and Broghol to Chitral. Meanwhile Chaqansarai in the Wakhan corridor was passed to Afghanistan and a large part of Hunza passed to Chinaas the British tried to keep the Russia and China away from its Indian boundaries.This Area of over 2 million inhabitants spread over 100,000 Sq. Kms,came under Pakistan’s control as a result of local uprising againstthe then Maharajah (Ruler) of Jammu & Kashmir, used by Pakistan

to occupy the territory on the pretext of providing administrative

support to the newly born Muslim neighbor state. This happened on 16th November 1947, just 15 days after Gilgit claimed its independence.Later Pakistan maintained its hold by dividing the people on sectarianlines.This is the world’s most beautiful as well as most deprived and neglected part of the region.

GEOGRAPHY

Gilgit Baltistan borders the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan, Badakhshan

province to the northwest, China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,

the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir to the south andsoutheast, the Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the south, and

Pakistan’s North-West Frontier (newly Khyber Pokhtonkhowa) Provincelies to the west.Gilgit Baltistan is home to approximately 2 million people and 8 of theworld’s highest peaks towering above 7000 meters, with the only exception of Mount Everest of Nepal. Amongst the highest mountains are K2 (MountGodwin-Austen) and Nanga Parbat, the latter being one of the most