Basharat Issa

Happy Independence Day to the beloved people of Gilgit Baltistan.🇵🇰🇵🇰 The independence was achieved “through brutal running battles by a handful of mostly civilian fighters led by the Gilgit Scouts, against the Dogra forces of Kashmir.” The liberation of Gilgit-Baltistan in late October 1947 marked a decisive and indigenous assertion of political will in the post-Partition landscape. On the night of 30–31 October 1947, the Gilgit Scouts, under the command of Major William Brown and local officers such as Captain Hassan Mirza, revolted against the Dogra garrison of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The uprising, supported by local leadership including Maulana Abdul Manan and Major Aslam Khan, swiftly brought an end to Dogra rule in the Gilgit Agency. The following year, the liberation movement spread to Baltistan, aided by the Chitral State Scouts and local militias, resulting in the defeat of Dogra forces across the region. For approximately two weeks after the liberation, Gilgit functioned as an independent political entity. During this interim period, local leaders and elders debated the future of the territory, ultimately deciding to join Pakistan. As documented by historian Dr. Yaqoob Khan Bangash in A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, the Wali of Hunza and the Mir of Nagar signed formal instruments of accession to Pakistan. This accession reflected a clear political and cultural alignment with the nascent Pakistani state. Pakistan appointed Sardar Mohammad Alam Khan as its first Political Agent on 16 November 1947, establishing formal administrative control and confirming Gilgit’s de facto integration. As noted by Ahmed Hasan Dani in History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (Sang-e-Meel, 2001), the transition was marked by local consent and minimal resistance, distinguishing Gilgit-Baltistan’s incorporation from other post-colonial territorial realignments. The flag of the short-lived independent state of Gilgit, which closely resembled the later flag of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, symbolised the ideological affinity with Pakistan. The population’s overwhelmingly Muslim demographic, combined with historic trade and cultural ties to the regions of Chitral and the North-West Frontier, made Pakistan the natural political and economic choice. Contrary to politicised interpretations that portray Gilgit-Baltistan as a contested zone, primary sources including The Gilgit Rebellion (Brown, 1998) and official correspondences cited in Alastair Lamb’s Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy, 1846–1990 show that the revolt was locally conceived and executed with minimal external direction. The liberation of Gilgit was thus not an annexation but a deliberate and collective act of self-determination aligned with the principles later enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Since 1947, Gilgit-Baltistan has remained an integral and loyal region of Pakistan. Its people have contributed disproportionately to the country’s defence, development, and cultural vitality. The anniversary of 1 November is therefore not only a commemoration of liberation from Dogra domination but also a reaffirmation of a political choice rooted in faith, geography, and shared destiny. The independence and accession of Gilgit-Baltistan stand as enduring evidence that people, by their own initiative, chose Pakistan transforming their mountainous homeland into a symbol of voluntary unity and historical continuity within the Pakistani federation.

stuck between getting another masters or a PhD, or going home to raise chickens. 🥺

Yak rescued by shimshali person at Hunza shimshal Pamir . Vedio: The North Hunter