Gilgit-Baltistan
 
Gilgit is the capital city of the Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas), Pakistan and a tehsil (headquarters) of Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin which later on came to be known as Gilit and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people, it was the Sikh and Dogra conquerors who gave it the name of Gilgit, in the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit city is one of the two major hubs on the Northern Areas for all mountaineering expeditions of Karakoram to the peaks of the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.
Gilgit has an area of 14,680 square miles (38,021 kmē). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighbouring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan.

Northern Area consists of two divisions:

  • Baltistan division: Ghanche and Skardu Districts.
  • Gilgit division: Astore, Diamir, Ghizar, Gilgit and Hunza-Nagar Districts.
 
Baltistan and Gilgit states were abolished during British period, while Hunza and Nagar continued to exist until India-Pakistan partition in 1947.
Nagar was an autonomous principality in close association with neighbouring Hunza. The British gained control of both states in 1889 and 1892. The British retained Nagar's status as a 'principality' until 1947 but together with Hunza it was considered a vassal of Kashmir, although never ruled directly by it. The rulers of Nagar sent annual tributes to the Kashmir Durbar until 1947, and along with the ruler of Hunza, were considered amongst the most loyal vassals of the Maharaja of Kashmir.
In 1947, these states acceded to Pakistan, but continued as semi autonomous state. When Ayub Khan's dictatorship ended in Pakistan and the democratic government of the Pakistan Peoples Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came into power through elections it realized the sentiments of the people against the Mir for democracy, so the Government freed the prisoners of the movement and dissolved the Mirs of Hunza and Nagar and were merged into a single entity as the Northern Areas in 1974.
 
Below are princely states of Northern Area shown alphabetically before 1947.
 
 
Gilgit-Baltistan - Part of Pakistan
 
               02 Nov 1947  Northern Areas administered by Pakistan as part of North-West
                             Frontier Province.
                      1950  Control of Northern Areas transferred from North-West Frontier

                             Province to Ministry of Kashmir Affairs.
 14 Oct 1955 - 01 Jul 1970  Part of West Pakistan province.

               01 Jul 1970  Federally administered Northern Areas created.
               04 Jan 2008  Devolution package grants autonomy.
               28 Aug 2009  Northern Areas renamed Gilgit-Baltistan.
 
On 28th Aug 2009, Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) order, renames the Northern Areas as Gilgit-Baltistan and sets up a council under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The head of the Gilgit-Baltistan region will be a governor to be appointed by the President. He will also be the vice-chairman of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council. An elected legislature will replace the region's current assembly. It will appoint a chief executive, the chief minister. The governor will appoint a cabinet on the advice of the chief minister. The Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas minister is likely to be appointed as the area's first governor. A federal cabinet is likely to approve a constitutional reforms package to give all the rights of a province to the Gilgit-Baltistan region without declaring it a province.

Amanullah Khan, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), said Islamabad has lost support of the Security Council over the years due to a 'wavering stand' on Kashmir and now it was squandering whatever goodwill it had by merging Gilgit-Baltistan with Pakistan. Nationalist parties in Hunza-Nagar rejected the Self Governance Order, describing it as old wine in a new bottle. Hefizur Rehman, member of the Northern Areas Legislative Assembly, termed the package a gimmickry of words and said once again the centre (federal government of Pakistan) was trying to hoodwink the people of the Northern Areas.

On 07th Sep 2009, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday signed the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order 2009 aimed at introducing far-reaching administrative, political, financial and judicial reforms in the Northern Areas. The President congratulated the people of Gilgit and Baltistan on the realization of yet another dream of emancipation. He recalled the reforms by the PPP in 1975 and again in 1994 and said he was pleased that the PPP government and reforms in Northern Areas were interlinked. Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA) Qamar Zaman Kaira would take the charge as Acting Governor of Northern Areas following the federal cabinet approved self-governance reforms package aimed at giving it full internal autonomy besides changing its nomenclature to Gilgit-Baltistan.

 

  • Chief Executives (Federal Mininisters for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas)
  • Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan.......................31 Oct 1949 - 13 Apr 1950
  • Unknown Chief Executive from 13 Apr 1950 to 24 Oct 1951 or probably vacant.
  • Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani............................24 Oct 1951 - 26 Nov 1951
  • Mahmud Husain....................................26 Nov 1951 - 17 Apr 1953
  • Shoaib Qureshi...................................18 Apr 1953 - 24 Oct 1954
  • Mohammad Ali Bogra (1st time)....................24 Oct 1954 - 06 Nov 1954
  • Iskandar Ali Mirza (Military)....................06 Nov 1954 - 20 Jan 1955
  • Sardar Mumtaz Ali Khan...........................20 Jan 1955 - 11 Aug 1955
  • Syed Abid Husain.................................11 Aug 1955 - 14 Oct 1955
  • Mohammad Ali Bogra (2nd time)....................17 Oct 1955 - 12 Sep 1956
  • Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy........................12 Sep 1956 - 18 Oct 1957
  • Yusuf A. Haroon..................................18 Oct 1957 - 16 Dec 1957
  • Malik Firoz Khan Nun.............................16 Dec 1957 - 07 Oct 1958
  • Mohammad Ayub Khan Tareen (Military - 1st time)..28 Oct 1958 - 23 Apr 1960
  • Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1st time)...................23 Apr 1960 - 01 Jun 1960
  • Akhtar Husain....................................01 Jun 1960 - 01 Mar 1962
  • W.A. Burki (Military)............................02 Mar 1962 - 03 Mar 1962
  • Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (2nd time)...................03 Mar 1962 - 08 Jun 1962
  • Habibullah.......................................13 Jun 1962 - 23 Mar 1965
  • Mohammad Ayub Khan Tareen (Military - 2nd time)..23 Mar 1965 - 17 Aug 1965
  • Chaudhry Ali Akbar Khan..........................17 Aug 1965 - 30 Nov 1966
  • A.R. Khan (Military).............................05 Dec 1966 - 23 Mar 1969
  • Abdul Hamid Khan (Military)......................05 Apr 1969 - 03 Aug 1969
  • Sardar Abdul Rashid..............................04 Aug 1969 - 22 Feb 1971
  • Unknown Chief Executive from 22 Feb to 24 Dec 1971 or probably vacant.
  • Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (3rd time)...................24 Dec 1971 - 06 Mar 1972
  • As Provinical Coordinator.
  • Abdul Qayyum Khan................................13 May 1972 - 22 Oct 1974
  • Jamal Dar (1st time).............................22 Oct 1974 - 05 Feb 1976
  • Syed Qaim Ali Shah Jillani.......................05 Feb 1976 - 28 Mar 1977
  • Muhammad Haneef Khan.............................30 Mar 1977 - 05 Jul 1977
  • Unknown Chief Executive from 05 Jul 1977 to 14 Jan 1978 or probably vacant.
  • Faiz Ali Chishti (Military - 1st time)...........14 Jan 1978 - 23 Aug 1978
  • Faqir Mohammad Khan..............................27 Aug 1978 - 21 Apr 1979
  • Faiz Ali Chishti (Military - 2nd time)...........21 Apr 1979 - 31 Mar 1980
  • Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq..............................31 Mar 1980 - 09 Mar 1981
  • Jamal Dar (2nd time).............................09 Mar 1981 - 25 Dec 1982
  • Raja Sikandar Zaman..............................05 Jan 1983 - 05 Mar 1983
  • Jamal Said Mian (Military).......................05 Mar 1983 - 24 Mar 1985
  • Mohammad Khan Junejo.............................10 Apr 1985 - 21 May 1985
  • Syed Qasim Shah..................................21 May 1985 - 29 May 1988
  • Malik Nasim Ahmed Aheer..........................09 Jun 1988 - 17 Nov 1988
  • Muhammad Hanif Khan..............................04 Dec 1988 - 23 Mar 1989
  • Mir Baz Muhammad Khan Khetran....................23 Mar 1989 - 28 Jan 1990
  • Abdul Majid Malik................................07 Oct 1990 - 06 Nov 1990
  • Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan.........................17 Nov 1990 - 18 Jul 1993
  • Mohammad Shafiq..................................26 Jul 1993 - 19 Oct 1993
  • Mohammad Afzal Khan..............................21 Oct 1993 - 05 Nov 1996
  • Omar Khan Afridi.................................05 Nov 1996 - 17 Feb 1997
  • Gohar Ayub Khan..................................25 Feb 1997 - 11 Jul 1997
  • Malik Abdul Majeed...............................11 Jul 1997 - 12 Oct 1999
  • Faisal Saleh Hayat (1st time)....................12 Oct 1999 - 06 Nov 1999
  • Abbas Sarfaraz Khan (1st time)...................06 Nov 1999 - 28 Aug 2002
  • Nisar Ahmad Memon................................28 Aug 2002 - 23 Nov 2002
  • Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao............................Dec 2002 - 30 Jun 2004
  • Syed Ghazi Gulab Jamal...........................30 Jun 2004 - 25 Aug 2004
  • Faisal Saleh Hayat (2nd time)....................02 Sep 2004 - 25 Apr 2006
  • Tahir Iqbal .....................................25 Apr 2006 - 16 Nov 2007
  • Abbas Sarfaraz Khan (2nd time)...................16 Nov 2007 - 04 Jan 2008
  • Autonomy
  • Chairmen (Federal Mininisters for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas)
  • Abbas Sarfaraz Khan..............................04 Jan 2008 - 31 Mar 2008
  • Qamar Zaman Kaira................................31 Mar 2008 - 15 Sep 2009
  • Governors
  • Qamar Zaman Kaira (acting).......................15 Sep 2008 - 22 Mar 2010
  • Dr. Shama Khalid (female)........................23 Mar 2010 - 15 Sep 2010
  • She knew about her cancer at very late stage in June 2010 and died on 15 Sep 2010 at 17:00 PST.
  • Wazir Baig (acting)..............................20 Sep 2010 - 01 Feb 2011
  • As speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA), he took oath as the acting governor.
  • Pir Syed Karam Ali Shah..........................01 Feb 2011 - 16 Feb 2015
  • He died on 03 August 2020.
  • Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir..................16 Feb 2015 - 24 Nov 2015
  • The federal minister for Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir affairs since 13 June 2013, Barjees Tahir, is given additional charge as governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.
  • Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan............................24 Nov 2015 - 15 Sep 2018
  • The governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan, submits his resignation. President Arif Alvi accepts it on September 15 and the speaker of the local assembly, Fida Muhammad Nashad, becomes acting governor. On 25 September, Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon is appointed governor (sworn in September 30).
  • Fida Muhammad Nashad (acting).....................15 Sep 2018 - 30 Sep 2018
  • Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon........................30 Sep 2018 - date
  • He was appointed the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan by President Arif Alvi on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan after the resignation of Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan.
  • Chief Executive
  • Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan...........................04 Jan 2008 - 11 Dec 2009
  • Chief Minister
  • Syed Mehdi Shah..................................11 Dec 2009 - 12 Dec 2014
  • Sher Jahan Mir (acting)..........................12 Dec 2014 - 26 Jun 2015
  • Hafiz Hafeezur Rahman............................26 Jun 2015 - date
  • Rehman was born in Kashrote, Gilgit. He received his early education in Jamia Faridia madrassa, later on graduated from Punjab University. His elder brother Saif Rehman had been like a political alma mater for him, who played the key role in establishing Pakistan Muslim League-N in Gilgit-Baltistan. In 2003 Saif Rehman who was serving education, finance and revenue adviser in the then set-up, was assassinated in his hometown Kashrote near Gilgit city. Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman is currently leader of Pakistan's conservative political party PML-N, in Gilgit-Baltistan.
 
 
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