Gilgit Agency

The Gilgit Agency was an <a href="/facts/Agencies_of_British_India/kWy01seE">agency</a> within the <a href="/facts/British_Indian_Empire/hBe6wvPS">British Indian Empire</a>. It encompassed Hunza, Nagar and the governorships of Yasin, Koh Ghizer, Ishkoman, Punial and the tribal areas of Gor, Darel, Tangir, the district of Chilas and the Gilgit tehsil of the <a href="/facts/Princely_state/3HFwekHD">princely state</a> of <a href="/facts/Jammu_and_Kashmir_(princely_state)/ykEk9fTb">Jammu and Kashmir.</a>The primary objective of establishing the Gilgit Agency was to bolster and fortify these regions, particularly in the context of concerns about Russian encroachment in the area. The agency headquarters was based in the town of <a href="/facts/Gilgit/ezWGJG3S">Gilgit</a>, within the <a href="/facts/Gilgit_District/MdcF8pGD">Gilgit tehsil</a> of Jammu and Kashmir.
Gilgit Agency was bounded in the west by the <a href="/facts/Chitral_(princely_state)/qPjbCfgT">Chitral State</a>, in the northwest by Afghanistan's <a href="/facts/Wakhan_corridor/rmYzXbxx">Wakhan corridor</a>, in the east by <a href="/facts/Chinese_Turkestan/RxR4GDJ3">Chinese Turkestan</a>, in the south by the Kashmir province, and in the southeast by the <a href="/facts/Ladakh/ekL17WAx">Ladakh</a> wazarat of Jammu and Kashmir (which included <a href="/facts/Baltistan/APS7ghSz">Baltistan</a>).
An <a href="/facts/Officer_on_Special_Duty/4ovdGJU8">Officer on Special Duty</a> was established in 1877 in the town of Gilgit till 1882 to monitor the Baroghil and Ishkoman passes. After seven years a permanent <a href="/facts/Political_officer_(British_Empire)/l91lc8wg">Political Agent</a> in 1889 was established. In 1935, the Gilgit tehsil of the princely state was leased from the Maharaja, which also came under the administration of the Political Agent. The <a href="/facts/Astore_District/V6kjYaIJ">Astore tehsil</a> continued to be under the Maharaja's administration. On 1st July 1947, shortly before the <a href="/facts/Partition_of_India/c8xmUWfG">partition of India</a>, not only was the Gilgit Leased Area retroceded to the Maharaja but the whole of Gilgit Agency was handed over to the Dogras. 
The <a href="/facts/Gilgit_Scouts/yy7XB2TL">Gilgit Scouts</a> who were hopeful of Jammu & Kashmir state acceding to Pakistan were shocked at the news of the <a href="/facts/Instrument_of_Accession_(Jammu_and_Kashmir)/DjyCqgnW">accession</a> of Jammu and Kashmir to India on 26 October 1947. The Gilgit Scouts ably led by Major William Brown, took Brigadier Gansara Singh into protective custody on 1st November 1947 and raised the Pakistan flag on 2nd November in Gilgit. Hunza and Nagar states had by then already sent in their accession letters addressed to the Quaid-e-Azam. Pakistan sent in a Political Agent on 16th November who took over the administration of the areas thereafter.
Under the Pakistani administration, the Gilgit, Astore, and Skardu (<a href="/facts/Baltistan/APS7ghSz">Baltistan</a>) tehsils, as well as the principalties previously under the agency, were clubbed together under the name of "Gilgit Agency". The unit remained in existence till 1974, after which it was abolished by the Pakistani Prime Minister <a href="/facts/Zulfiqar_Ali_Bhutto/nFGDV8hH">Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto</a> and turned into the <a href="/facts/Federally_Administered_Northern_Areas/SY4nFYaz">Federally Administered Northern Areas</a> (later renamed to "Gilgit-Baltistan").
While India continues to claim the entire region of Gilgit-Baltistan as part of the union territory of <a href="/facts/Ladakh/ekL17WAx">Ladakh</a>, Pakistan's stand is that a plebiscite as per UN resolution be held in the territories referred to as Jammu & Kashmir.

Gilgit Agency open-in-new

Gilgit Agency