Gilgit–Baltistan (Urdu/Shina/Burushaski: گلگت بلتستان, Balti: གིལྒིཏ་བལྟིསྟན formerly known as the Northern Areas[5]) is the northernmost administrative territory of Pakistan.[6] It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang autonomous region of China to the east and northeast and Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast.

Together with Azad Kashmir it forms part of the disputed Kashmir region, which has been the subject of conflict between India and Pakistan since 1947.[6][7]

Gilgit–Baltistan is an autonomous[8] self-governing region that was established as a single administrative unit in 1970, formed by the amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan region and the former princely states of Hunza and Nagar. It covers an area of 72,971 km² (28,174 sq mi) and is highly mountainous. It has an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. Its capital city is Gilgit (population 216,760).