The Northern Areas, Pakistan reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Northern Areas, Pakistan

The Northern Areas refers to a Pakistani-controlled region of Kashmir, at the extreme north of Pakistan. It borders to the north with Afghanistan and China, to the south with India and Azad Kashmir and to the west with North-West Frontier, Pakistan. Strictly speaking, the Northern Areas are not merged with Pakistan but are instead directly administered by it. India does not recognize the Northern Areas as belonging to Pakistan and calls the region encompassing Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas as "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir."

The Northern Areas comprise of the districts of Baltistan, Gilgit (where their capital is located) and Hunza. The latter was an independent principality for 900 years and only came under Pakistani rule in 1974. The Northern Areas collectively comprise a territory of 27,991 mi² (72,496 km²).

Subdivisions of Pakistan
Balochistan | North-West Frontier Province | Punjab | Sindh
Islamabad Capital Territory | Federally Administered Tribal Areas | Azad Kashmir | Northern Areas

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