Hunza District | |
Native Name: | |
Native Name Lang: | ur |
Settlement Type: | District of Gilgit-Baltistan administered by Pakistan |
Image Map1: | Kashmir region. LOC 2003626427 - showing sub-regions administered by different countries.jpg |
Map Caption1: | A map showing Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan (shaded in sage green) in the disputed Kashmir region |
Coordinates: | 36.5667°N 81°W |
Coor Pinpoint: | Karimabad, Gilgit=Baltistan |
Subdivision Type: | Administering country |
Subdivision Name: | Pakistan |
Subdivision Type1: | Territory |
Subdivision Name1: | Gilgit-Baltistan |
Subdivision Type2: | Division |
Subdivision Name2: | Gilgit Division |
Seat Type: | Headquarters |
Seat: | Karimabad |
Government Type: | District Administration |
Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
Leader Name: | N/A |
Leader Title1: | District Police Officer |
Leader Name1: | N/A |
Leader Title2: | District Health Officer |
Leader Name2: | N/A |
Area Total Km2: | 11,660 |
Population Total: | 243,324 |
Population As Of: | 1998 |
Population Density Km2: | 6.4 |
Demographics1 Title1: | Main language(s) |
Blank Name Sec1: | Number of tehsils |
Blank Info Sec1: | 2 |
Demographics1 Info1: | Burushaski Shina Wakhi |
Hunza District (Urdu: {{nq|ضلع ہنزہ, {{script/Arabic|ہُنزݳ ضِلع) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.[1] It is one of the 14 districts of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. It was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District in accordance with a government decision to establish more administrative units in Gilgit-Baltistan.[2] The district headquarters is the town of Karimabad.
The Hunza District is bounded on the north and east by the Kashgar Prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on the south by the Nagar District and the Shigar District, on the west by the Ghizer District, and on the north-west by the Wakhan District of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. The Hunza District represents the northernmost region of present day or previously the Indian subcontinent.
Hunza is home to the historic passes through the Karakoram Mountains (the Killik, Mintaka, Khunjerab, and Shimshal passes) through which trade and religion passed between Central Asia, China, and India for centuries. The present-day Karakoram Highway passes through the Khunjerab Pass to enter China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Historian Ahmad Hassan Dani established that the Sakas (Scythians) used the Karakoram route to invade Taxila. The Sacred Rock of Hunza has petroglyphs of mounted horsemen and ibex, along with Kharoshti inscriptions that list the names of Saka and Pahlava rulers. The rock also contains inscriptions from the Kushan period, showing the Saka and Kushan suzerainty over the Hunza and Gilgit regions.
Hunza began to separate from the Gilgit region as a separate state around 997 A.D., but decisive separation occurred with the establishment of the Ayash ruling family in the 15th century. The neighbouring Nagar state also separated in the same manner, and internecine battles between the two states were endemic. Following the invasion of Kashmir by the Mughal nobleman Mirza Haidar Dughlat, the Mir of Hunza established diplomatic relations with Kashgaria (Yarkand Khanate). After Kashgaria came under Chinese control, he continued relations with Kashgaria by paying an annual tribute of gold dust to the Chinese government in Yarkand. In return for that token tribute, Hunza enjoyed territorial rights in the Raskam Valley and grazing rights in the Taghdumbash Pamir.
British era
After the British suzerainty was established over the Kashmir region in 1846, the British made Hunza subject to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus Hunza was in the anomalous position of being subject to two sovereign powers at the same time, immensely complicating the relations between British India and the Chinese empire. The practice of tribute to China was eventually stopped in 1930.
After 1947
After the partition of India into the present-day India and Pakistan in 1947, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acceded his state to India in order to defend it against an invasion by Pakistani tribesmen. A rebellion in Gilgit then overthrew the Maharaja's authority. The Mir of Hunza subsequently acceded his state to Pakistan, but the accession was never formally accepted, due to the Kashmir dispute in the United Nations.
Administratively, the Hunza District comprises two tehsils, the Aliabad Tehsil and the Gojal Tehsil. The villages of lower Hunza and central Hunza are located in the Aliabad Tehsil, whereas the villages from the Attabad Lake up to the Khunjerab Pass are located in the Gojal Tehsil. In lower Hunza, Shina is the main language, whereas in central Hunza, the dominant language is Burushashki, and in upper Hunza, Wakhi is the main language. District administration is exercised by the Deputy Commissioner (DC), with the assistance of an assistant commissioner. The Hunza police force is commanded by the Superintendent of Police (SP).
The population of Hunza District is predominantly Muslim, with 89% Nizari Ismaili muslims, 7% Twelver Shia Muslims, and 4% Sunni Muslims.