The highly mountainous region of Gilgit Baltistan covers an area of 72,971 square km with an estimated population of over 1.8 million. Originally belonging to and part of India, Gilgit Baltistan is surrounded by Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor to the north, China’s Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region to the north-west, Ladakh to east and Kashmir to south. China’s ‘all-weather friendship’ with Pakistan …
