Diamer District
Diamer District
ضلع دیامر | |
|---|---|
District of Gilgit–Baltistan administered by Pakistan | |
 | |
![A map showing Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan (shaded in sage green) in the disputed Kashmir region[1]](/index.php/File:Kashmir_region._LOC_2003626427_-_showing_sub-regions_administered_by_different_countries.jpg) A map showing Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan (shaded in sage green) in the disputed Kashmir region[1] | |
| Lua error in Module:Infobox_mapframe at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Coordinates: Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Administering country | Pakistan |
| Territory | Gilgit-Baltistan |
| Headquarters | Chilas |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | N/A |
| • District Police Officer | N/A |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,234 km2 (2,793 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 323,643[2] |
| • Density | 44.74/km2 (115.9/sq mi) |
| Number of tehsils | 2 |
Diamer District (Urdu: ضلع دیامر), also spelled Diamir District, is a district of the Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.[1] The headquarters of the district is the town of Chilas.
Geography
[edit | edit source]
The district is bounded on the north by the Tangir and the Gilgit districts, on the east by the Astore District, on the south by the Mansehra district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and the Neelum District of Azad Kashmir, and on the west by the Upper Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The Karakoram Highway passes through Diamer District. 23% of the district consists of alpine pastures, with over 53% of remaining area being barren or permanently snow covered.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]Thalpan, located opposite to the Chilas town, bears the most abundant collection of rock-art in Pakistan — the Pakistan-German Archaeological Mission has published about them in six dedicated volumes and traced them to Greco-Buddhist antiquity.[4][a] Buddhist Stupas and anthropomorphic Buddhas remain the most common subject of rock-carvings in and around Chilas.[5]
Karl Jettmar suggests that Chilas might have had been a Buddhist sanctuary while Harald Hauptmann hypothesizes Thalpan to be the "Talilo" of Chinese sources; however, in absence of excavations, such claims remain in the realm of speculations.[5]
During the British Raj, the area was known as Chilas and regarded as a tribal area, a subsidiary of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.[6][7] Its original name was apparently Shiltās.[8]
The region was brought under the control of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir in 1851, and an agent of the Kashmir durbar was stationed there.[9] In 1893, Chilas was taken over by the British-run Gilgit Agency.[10] An Assistant Political Agent of the Agency was stationed in Chilas town.[11][12] The Raja was soon deposed and Chilas functioned as a 'republican community' under the aegis of jirga, a body of local landowning men.[13][14]
Prior to 2019, the Darel District and the Tangir District were part of the Diamer District. They were subsequently elevated to district status.[15] The jirga continues to play a significant role in governance.[14]
Demographics
[edit | edit source]In Diamer District the majority of the population adheres to Sunni Islam, predominantly of the Deobandi school of thought, having been introduced to the region by Pashtun-preachers.[16][17]
Transportation
[edit | edit source]Before the Karakoram Highway was opened in 1978, the only road from the south to the town of Gilgit was a rough track north from Balakot to the Babusar Pass (via Kaghan, Naran, Besal, and Gittidas) and further north from Babusar Gah to Chilas. The road up to Besal is better than it was previously, and the road from Besal to the Babusar Pass is good, having been recently metaled.
See also
[edit | edit source]Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 392: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ The proposed construction of Basha-Diamer Dam is expected to inundate over 37,000 carvings.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (d), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) below).
(a) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
(b) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
(c) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partly by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
(d) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute betw een India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
(e) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.";
(f) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (subscription required) Quote: "... China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962.";
(g) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million. AJK has six districts: Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh, Kodi, Rawalakot, and Poonch. Its capital is the town of Muzaffarabad. AJK has its own institutions, but its political life is heavily controlled by Pakistani authorities, especially the military), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control."
(h) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Quote: "Kashmir’s identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";
(i) Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'." - ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Chohan 1997, p. 118.
- ^ Chohan 1997, pp. 127, 189.
- ^ Chohan 1997, p. 215.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
