South Asia: Pakistan and the Himalayan States - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 193

terrorism intensified. In 1993, the Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front and Hizbul Mujahideen united for the
liberation of Kashmir. The Indian military has been ruth-
less in its suppression of insurgents. One result is that
tourism, once a mainstay of Kashmir' s economy , has
picked up to some degree. Overall, however, the industry
is decimated.
Srinagar and the V ale of Kashmir are open for busi-
ness even as inhabitants' vehicles, shops, and facilities
remain damaged or closed for repairs. Unlike in the
past, tourists are coming mainly from India and not
from America and Europe. Many travelers see the po-
tential for more violence. After all, this is still disputed
territory .
A beacon of light appeared in 2003 when India and
Pakistan started to mend their relations. A cease-fire has
been called, and both countries are supposed to come to
some agreement about Kashmir. India withdrew 30,000
of its troops in 2008 and 30,000 more in 2009. Neverthe-
less, the conflict has claimed at least 42,000 lives since
1990. Furthermore, some 350,000 to 450,000 people
have been internally displaced.
T To compound the situation, a massive earthquake
struck near the Line of Control on October 8, 2005, af-
fecting both Pakistani and Indian territories. More peo-
ple perished on that day than in two decades of conflict.
The estimated 7.6 quake killed at least 73,000 in Pak-
istan and 1,300 in India. More than 3 million Pakistanis
and 150,000 Indians lost their homes.

above 23,000 feet (7,000 m). These include the challeng-
ing peaks of K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen) at 28,250 feet
(8,611 m) and Nanga Parbat at 26,660 feet (8,125 m).
Also, three of the world' s longest glaciers outside of the
polar regions can be found here.
Prior to 1978, Gilgit-Baltistan was cut off from Pak-
istan due to its harsh terrain and lack of roads. Existing
roads went into Kashmir. However, people could walk
through mountain passes to get to Rawalpindi in the
summer. The Karakorum Highway (noted above) con-
nects Islamabad to the main towns of Gilgit and Skardu
(Figure 7-10).
This rugged and largely inaccessible region is popu-
lated by a patchwork of ethnic, linguistic, and religious
groups. Identity is of utmost importance to the many
and diverse ethnic groups that are often referred to as
Kashmiris by Pakistan' s government. In fact, they are
not at all related to the Kashmiris nor do they speak
their language.
While Urdu is the lingua franca (understood by
men), 40 percent of the population, mostly in Gilgit,
speaks Shina (with several dialects). The people of
Baltistan speak Balti, a Tibetan language. There are at
least six additional languages (with numerous dialects)
spoken in the region. One interesting language is Do-
maki, which is spoken by traveling music clans.
The majority of the population is Shia, unlike the rest
of Pakistan where the majority is Sunni. There are also
significant numbers of Ismaili Muslims—a moderate sect
that follows Ali Khan (son of the Aga Khan) of Egypt.
In a further effort to secure control of the north,
Pakistan' s President Zardari signed the Gilgit-Baltistan
Empowerment and Self-Governance Order on August
29, 2009. This grants self-rule (but not provincial sta-
tus) to the people of the Northern Areas and officially
renames the region “Gilgit-Baltistan.” A governor will
be appointed and an Assembly partly elected by the peo-
ple. The government has also promised a development
package to improve the very poor economic and social
conditions. In September 2009, Pakistan signed an
agreement with China for a mega-energy project that in-
cludes the construction of a 7,000-megawatt dam at
Bunji.
The offer of “province-like” status does not appease
the Gilgit-Baltistan people at all. They insist on true
provincial status equal to that of the other provinces.
They see that a centrally appointed governor will func-
tion to maintain Pakistan' s control of the region. More-
over, they claim that the “package” has been imposed on
them without consultation.

Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit and Baltistan comprise the northernmost territory
governed by Islamabad and are an important element in
the struggle for Kashmir. New Delhi claims that the re-
gion belongs to India because it is part of Jammu and
Kashmir. Pakistan considers the territory to be separate
from Kashmir.
The two-part territory became a single administra-
tive unit in 1970 under the name of “Northern Areas.”
This 28,174 square mile (72,971 km 2 ) region has an esti-
mated population of 1.5 million. It is an important strate-
gic area as it borders the contentious zones of
Afghanistan' s Wakhan Corridor, China' s Uygur Au-
tonomous Region (see Chapter 10), Pakistan' s NWFP , as
well as contested parts of Kashmir.
Gilgit-Baltistan was once a major destination for for-
eign tourists, especially trekkers and mountaineers who
hoped to scale the slopes of the Karakorum and the west-
ern Himalayas, where there are more than 50 mountains