History
Prior to establishment of Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Dogra rulers in the mid - nineteenth century, the Gilgit region had been ruled by princes who were styled Raas. The rulers of the neighboring Baltistan region used the Tibetan title of rGyal-po, having been founded as a western Tibetan kingdom in the thirteenth century. Gilgit and Baltistan, together with their neighbours Hunza, Nagar and Ladakh, became vassals of the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, but maintained considerable autonomy. After formation of the Gilgit Agency by the British in 1877, these territories, including the Wazarats of Gilgit and Ladakh, were administered directly by the British, though the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir retained sovereignty.
The local rulers of these territories continued to appear at the Jammu and Kashmir Durbars until 1947. The events of Partition and the subsequent invasion of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani tribals during the First Kashmir War led to most of the former Gilgit Wazarat becoming part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, but most of the Ladakh Wazarat, including the Kargil area became part of Indian-administered Kashmir. The Line of Control established at the end of the war is the current de facto border of India and Pakistan.
Initially, the Gilgit Agency was not absorbed into any of the provinces of West Pakistan, but was ruled directly by political agents of the federal government of Pakistan. In 1963, Pakistan entered into a treaty with China to transfer part of the Gilgit Agency to China, (the Trans-Karakoram Tract), with the proviso that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute.
The dissolution of the province of West Pakistan in 1970 was accompanied by change of the name of the Gilgit Agency to the Northern Areas. In 1974, the states of Hunza and Nagar and the independent valleys of Darel-Tangir, which had been de facto dependencies of Pakistan, were also incorporated into the Northern Areas.
Pakistan and India continue to dispute the sovereignty of the territories that had comprised the Gilgit Agency.
Read more about this topic: Gilgit Agency
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