Northern Areas

Federally Administered Northern

Areas (FANA)

Capital Gilgit
• Coordinates
• 35°21′N
75°54′E35.35, 75.9
Population (2008) 1,800,000 (Estimate)
• Density • 20.7/km²
Area 72496 km²
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
Main language(s) Urdu (national)
English (official)
Pukhto
Burushaski
Balti Tibetan
Wakhi
Khajuna
Khowar
Status non-self-governing
territory under
Pakistani control
• Districts • 6
• Towns • 7
• Union Councils •
Established {{{established}}}
• Governor/Comm • {{{governor}}}
issioner • {{{minister}}}
• Chief Minister • {{{legislature}}}
• Legislature ({{{seats}}})
(seats)
Website Development
Gateway

The Northern Areas (Urdu: ‫شالی علقہ جات‬, Shumālī Ilāqe Jāt) is officially referred
to by the government of Pakistan as the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA). The
Northern Areas is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the
former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It borders Afghanistan to the north, China to the
northeast, the Pakistani-controlled state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to the south, and the
Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast. The Northern Areas, which
became a single administrative unit in 1970, was formed from the amalgamation of the Gilgit
Agency, the Baltistan District of the Ladakh Wazarat, and the states of Hunza and Nagar. With
its administrative center at the town of Gilgit, the Northern Areas covers an area of 72,971 km²
(28,174 mi²) and has an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. According to Pakistan's
constitution, the Northern Areas is not part of Pakistan, and its inhabitants have never had any
representation in Pakistan's parliament. As far as the United Nations is concerned, the entire area
of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Northern Areas, remains a
disputed territory still awaiting resolution of the long-standing dispute between India and
Pakistan. The government of Pakistan, continues to this day to regard the entire area of the
former state as "territory in dispute" to be resolved by a plebiscite to be held at some future date,
in order to determine the accession of the entire area to either India or Pakistan. While continuing
to call for that plebiscite, however, the government of Pakistan has, so far, been unwilling to
entertain the idea of a third option for the plebiscite, i.e., a choice of independence for the entire
former state. Today, the Northern Areas is still referred to by India as part of "Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir" (POK) and, conversely, the present Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir is
referred to by Pakistan as "Indian-occupied Kashmir."

Contents
 1 History
 2 Subdivisions
 3 Geography
 4 Climate
 5 Sports
 5.1 Rock art and petroglyphs
 6 Transport
 7 Demographics
 8 National honours
 9 References
 10 Further reading
 11 See also
 12 External links

History
Before the partition of India in 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh extended his rule to Gilgit and
Baltistan. After the partition, Jammu and Kashmir, in its entirety, remained an independent state,
as a result of the maharaja's decision to refrain from joining either India or Pakistan. The
Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir to the north and west of the cease-fire line, or the Line of
Control as it later came to be called, were divided into the Northern Areas (72,971 km²) in the
north and the Pakistani-controlled state of Azad Kashmir (13,297 km²) in the south. The name
"Northern Areas" was first used by the United Nations, to refer to the northern areas of Kashmir.
The United Nations never intended the name to refer to the northern areas of Pakistan. As far as
the United Nations is concerned, the entire area of the former princely state of Jammu and
Kashmir, including the Northern Areas, remains a disputed territory, still awaiting resolution of
the long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan. A small part of the Northern Areas, the
Shaksgam tract, was provisionally ceded by Pakistan to the People's Republic of China in 1963.
Presently in the Northern Areas, there are at least two political movements—the Balawaristan
National Front (BNF) and the Gilgit Baltistan United Movement (GBUM)—that are calling for
the establishment of a fully autonomous state.

Subdivisions
Map of the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), showing the boundaries of the
six previous districts and their tehsils. The boundary between the recently created Hunza-Nagar
District and the now smaller Gilgit District is the same line as the northern boundary of the
former Gilgit Tehsil, which is the southernmost division of the area shown above in light blue.
Sikanderabad, the administrative center of the new Hunza-Nagar District, is not yet shown on
this map.

The Northern Areas is administratively divided into two divisions which, in turn, are divided into
seven districts[1]--the two Baltistan districts of Skardu and Ghanche, and the five Gilgit districts
of Gilgit, Ghizer, Diamer, Astore, and Hunza-Nagar. The main political centres are the towns of
Gilgit and Skardu.

Divisio Area Populati Headquart

District
n (km²) on (1998) ers
Baltist Ghanch
9,400 88,366 Khaplu
an e
Skardu 18,000 214,848 Skardu
Gilgit Astore 8,657 71,666 Gorikot
Diamir 10,936 131,925 Chilas
Ghizar 9,635 120,218 Gahkuch
21,300 243,324
Gilgit (previo (previous Gilgit
us area) pop.)
Hunza-
18,000 140,000 Aliabad
Nagar
7
FANA
district 72,971 970,347 Gilgit
total
s

Geography
K2 as seen from Concordia

Satpara Lake, Skardu, in 2002

The Northern Areas borders the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan to the northwest, China's Uygur
Autonomous Region of Xinjiang to the northeast, the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and
Kashmir to the south and southeast, the Pakistani-controlled state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
to the south, and Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province to the west.

The Northern Areas is a major destination for foreign tourists, especially serious mountaineers,
because it is home to five of the "eight-thousanders" and to more than fifty peaks above 7000
meters. Gilgit and Skardu are the two main hubs for all expeditions to those mountains. The
region is home to some of the world's highest mountain ranges—the main ranges are the
Karakoram and the western Himalayas. The Pamir mountains are to the north, and the Hindu
Kush lies to the west. Amongst the highest mountains are K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen) and
Nanga Parbat, the latter being one of the most feared mountains in the world (mountaineers get
scared of rocks).

Three of the world's longest glaciers outside the polar regions are found in the Northern Areas—
the Biafo Glacier, the Baltoro Glacier, and the Batura Glacier. There are, in addition, several
high-altitude lakes in the Northern Areas:

 Sheotsar Tso Lake in Byarsa Thang/Deosai Plains - Baltistan

 Satpar Tso Lake in Skardu - Baltistan
 Katzura Tso Lake in Skardu - Baltistan
 Zharba Tso Lake in Shigar - Baltistan
 Phoroq Tso Lake in Skardu - Baltistan
 Bara Tso Lake in Gangche - Baltistan
 Byarsa Tso Lake in Gultari - Baltistan
  Borith Lake in upper Hunza - Gilgit
 Rama Lake near Astore - Gilgit
 Rush Lake near Nagar - Gilgit
 Kromber Lake In Kromber Pass - Gilgit

The Deosai Plains, called Byarsa in Baltistan, are located above the tree line, and constitute the
second-highest plateau in the world at 4,115 meters (14,500 feet). The plateau lies south of
Skardu and west of Ladakh. The area was declared to be a national park in 1993. The Deosai
Plains cover an area of almost 5,000 square kilometres. For over half the year (between
September and May), Deosai is snow-bound and cut off from rest of Baltistan. The villages of
Byarsa/Deosai are connected with the Kargil district of Ladakh through an all-weather road, but
due to the closure of the border with the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the people of
Byarsa and Gultari are stranded for the winter months and are, therefore, not able to take
advantage of the economic resources of Ladakh during that time.

Climate
The climate of the Northern Areas varies from region to region. There are towns like Gilgit and
Chilas that are very hot during the day in summer, yet cold at night, and valleys like Astore,
Khaplu, Yasin, Hunza, and Nagar where the temperatures are cold even in summer.

Sports
Polo is the favourite game of the people of Gilgit, Chilas, Astore, Hunza, and the surrounding
areas. People are very fond of that game. Every year, a great number of tourists come to enjoy
polo in the Northern Areas. Other games such as cricket, gulli danda, kabadi, and volleyball are
also played there.

Rock art and petroglyphs

Ancient petroglyphs near Chilas

There are more than 20,000 pieces of rock art and petroglyphs all along the Karakoram Highway
in the Northern Areas, concentrated at ten major sites between Hunza and Shatial. The carvings
were left by various invaders, traders, and pilgrims who passed along the trade route, as well as
by locals. The earliest date back to between 5000 and 1000 BCE, showing single animals,
triangular men and hunting scenes in which the animals are larger than the hunters. These
carvings were pecked into the rock with stone tools and are covered with a thick patina that
proves their age. The archaeologist Karl Jettmar has pieced together the history of the area from
various inscriptions and recorded his findings in Rock Carvings and Inscriptions in the Northern
Areas of Pakistan[2] and the later released Between Gandhara and the Silk Roads - Rock
Carvings Along the Karakoram Highway[3].

Transport
Prior to 1978, the Northern Areas was cut off from Pakistan due to the harsh terrain and the lack
of accessible roads. All of the roads to the south opened towards the Pakistani-controlled state of
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AKJ) and to the southeast towards the present-day Indian-controlled
state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the summer, people could walk across the mountain passes
to travel to Rawalpindi. The fastest way to travel, however, was by air, but air travel was
accessible only to a few privileged local people and to Pakistani military and civilian officials.
Then, with the assistance of the Chinese government, Pakistan began construction of the
Karakoram Highway (KKH), which was completed in 1978. The Karakoram Highway (KKH)
connects Islamabad to Gilgit and Skardu, which are the two major hubs for mountaineering
expeditions in the Northern Areas. The journey from Islamabad to Gilgit takes approximately 20
to 24 hours. Landslides on the Karakoram Highway are very common. The KKH connects Gilgit
to Taxkorgan and Kaxgar in China via Sust (the customs and health inspection post on the
Northern Areas side) and the Khunjerab Pass, the highest paved international border crossing in
the world at 4,693 metres (15,397 feet).

NATCO (Northern Areas Transport Corporation) offers bus and jeep transport service to the two
hubs and several other popular destinations, lakes, and glaciers in the area.

The Karakoram Highway

In March 2006, the respective governments announced that, commencing on June 1, 2006, a
thrice-weekly bus service would begin across the boundary from Gilgit, Northern Areas, to
Kashgar, China, and road widening work would begin on 600 kilometres of the Karakoram
Highway. There would also be one daily bus in each direction between the Sust and Taxkorgan
border areas of the two political entities. [4]

Pakistan International Airlines used to fly a Fokker F27 aircraft daily between Gilgit Airport and
Islamabad International Airport. The flying time was approximately 50 minutes, and the flight
was one of the most scenic flights in the world, as its route passes over the mountain Nanga
Parbat, the peak of which was higher than the aircraft's cruising altitude. PIA also offers regular
flights of Boeing 737 between Skardu and Islamabad. However, the Fokker F27 aircraft was
retired after a crash at Multan in 2006. Currently, flights are being operated by PIA to Gilgit on
the brand-new ATR42-500 aircraft, which was purchased in 2006. With the new plane, the
cancellation of flights is much less than it was the Fokker aircraft. All flights, however, are
subject to weather clearance, and, in winter, flights are often delayed by several days.

Demographics
The population consists of many diverse linguistic, ethnic, and religious groups, due in part to
the many isolated valleys separated by some of the world's highest mountains. Urdu is the lingua
franca of the region, understood by most male inhabitants. The Shina language (with several
dialects) is the language of 40% of the population, spoken mainly in Gilgit, throughout Diamer,
and in some parts of Ghizer. The Balti language, a sub-dialect of Ladakhi and part of Tibetan
language group, is spoken by the entire population of Baltistan. Minor languages spoken in the
region include Wakhi, spoken in upper Hunza, and in some villages in Ghizer, while Khowar is
the major language of Ghizer. Burushaski is an isolated language spoken in Hunza, Nagar, Yasin
(where Khowar is also spoken), in some parts of Gilgit and in some villages of Punyal. Another
interesting language is Domaaki, spoken by the musician clans in the region. A small minority of
people also speaks Pashto. People who live in the Northern Areas, despite that region's being
referred to as part of Kashmir, do not speak Kashmiri or any of its dialects.

At the last census (1998), the population of the Northern Areas was 870,347. [5] Approximately
14% of the population was urban.[6]

National honours
The Northern Light Infantry is the army unit that was primarily used in the Kargil War, and it
suffered heavy losses in that fighting. The Herald, a Pakistani newspaper, stated that more than
500 soldiers were killed and buried in the Northern Areas[7]. Lalak Jan, a soldier from Yasin,
Northern Areas, was awarded Pakistan's most prestigious medal, the Nishan-e-Haider, for his
courageous actions during the Kargil conflict.

References
1. ^ "Wrangling over new Astore district headquarters" (HTML). Dawn Newspaper Internet
Edition. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
2. ^ Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway (Pakistan) - - a brief
introduction
3. ^ BETWEEN GANDHARA AND THE SILK ROADS
4. ^ "Kashgar-Gilgit bus service planned" (HTML). Dawn Newspaper Internet Edition. Retrieved
on 2006-11-17.
5. ^ "Administrative Division and Population of the Northern Areas (1998)" (HTML). Northern
Areas Management Information System. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
6. ^ "Population, poverty and environment" (PDF). Northern Areas Strategy for Sustainable
Development. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
7. ^ The Herald Special Report on Kargil

Further reading
 Pakistan Trekking Guide, by Isobel and Ben Shaw, 1993.
 Raman, Anita D (February 2004). "Of Rivers and Human Rights: The Northern Areas,
Pakistan's Forgotten Colony in Jammu and Kashmir". International Journal on Minority
 and Group Rights 11: 187–228. doi:10.1163/1571811041631272. ISSN (Print) 1571-8115
(Online) 1385-4879 (Print) 1571-8115 (Online).
See also
 Gilgit Baltistan United Movement
 Karakoram
 Karakoram Highway
 Indus River
 List of mountains in Pakistan
 Kargil War
 Gorikot
 Northern Light Infantry
 List of topics on the land and the people of “Jammu and Kashmir”
 Glacier growing
External links
Pakistan portal

Find more about Northern Areas on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Dictionary definitions

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Learning resources
 Northern Areas Government website
 Northern Areas Development Gateway
 Northern Areas tourism
 A Pictorial Visit of Northern Areas of Pakistan by Pervez Ahmed
 Northern Areas at the Open Directory Project
  Northern Areas (Pakistan) travel guide from Wikitravel
 Wikia has a wiki on this subject at Pakistan
[hide]
Administrative divisions of Pakistan

Provinces Balochistan · North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) · Punjab · Sindh

Territories Islamabad Capital Territory · Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Kashmir Azad Kashmir · Northern Areas

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Categories: Regions in Northern Areas (Pakistan) | Disputed territories in Asia | Divided regions |
Provinces and federally administered areas of Pakistan | Foreign relations of Pakistan
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