Gilgit District is one of the districts of the federal territory of
Gilgit-Baltistan in northern
Pakistan. It was formed in 1970 when Gilgit-Baltistan was federally administered as the "Northern Areas". It is bounded by the
Wakhan Corridor (
Afghanistan) to the north;
Xinjiang (
China) to the northeast and east;
Skardu,
Astore and
Diamer to the south; and
Ghizar District to the west. The town of
Gilgit is the capital of Gilgit District. According to the 1998 census Gilgit District had a population of 243,324.
The district includes
Gilgit town,
Gojal (
Upper Hunza),
Hunza,
Juglot,
Naltar,
Nomal, and
Shimshal. It also includes many small villages like
Minapin,
Hope and
Hispar etc. The highest peak in the district is
Distaghil Sar (7,885m) which is the
seventh highest peak in
Pakistan and
19th highest on
earth.
Administration
The Government of Pakistan has recently changed the status of the Northern Areas through a constitutional order and has renamed it as the defacto province of
Gilgit-Baltistan. The ceremonial head is the
Governor ghazanfar ali shah, who is the constitutional head of provincial government, assisted an executive
Chief Minister fatah ali khan and a council of ministers.
Administered by a tailor-made political and local government system. The local government system is based on a Legislative Council (Provincial Assembly), elected by people in all six districts through voting, headed by a speaker. Technocrats and women members are later elected/selected...
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