Chorbat Valley

Modern history

The Chorbat area, during the last three centuries, continuously changed hands between the rulers of Skardu, Khaplu and Ladakh, before coming under the suzerainty of Dogra Kingdom in the mid-19th century.^[19][23][2] Between 1834 and 1840, the Dogra general Zorawar Singh conquered both Ladakh and Baltistan and made them part of the Sikh Empire. Under the Treaty of Amritsar, the areas were transferred to Maharaja Gulab Singh to form part of the new princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under the suzerainty of the British. Baltistan was at first administered as a wazarat with 15 ilaqas, with Chorbat being one of them.^[24] Later, Ladakh and Baltistan formed a joint Ladakh Wazarat whose capital alternated between Leh and Skardu for six months each year.^[23]

India–Pakistan conflicts

In 1947, after the independence of the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir faced rebellion in its western districts followed by tribal invasion with Pakistani support, which provoked the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to join India. Maharaja's accession to India prompted the Gilgit Scouts in the north to rebel and overthrow the Maharaja's administration. The Gilgit Scouts and Muslim members of Jammu and Kashmir State Forces stationed in the area organised themselves under the command of Colonel Aslam Khan, and launched an invasion on the Ladakh wazarat. By July–August 1948, the Gilgit Scouts had captured Kargil, Skardu and the Zoji La pass that connects Ladakh to the Kashmir Valley, reaching the vicinity of Leh.

The fall of Leh to rebels was prevented by reinforcement through air and a tortuous mountain caravan from Himachal Pradesh. The Indian Army raised a local militia called the Nubra Guards under the command of Chewang Rinchen, which reportedly blocked various passage routes to Leh.^[25] The Gilgit Scouts were progressively pushed back beyond the line connecting the Chorbat La pass and Chalunka. The ceasefire line was established through these two points at the end of 1948.^[26] The entire Chorbat ilaqa came under the control of Pakistan. Bogdang, never a part of the ilaqa, remained under Indian control.

Under Pakistani control, Gilgit dominated Baltistan, and both regions were administered as non-descript "Northern Areas" by the Federal government of Pakistan. Chorbat was merged into the Khaplu niabat in this period.^[27]

15km
9.3miles

Shyok River

Bogdang

Chalunka

Turtuk

Tyakshi

Thang

   

Position at the end of 1972

India and Pakistan fought two further wars over Kashmir. In the 1965 war, the region saw some action, but the two countries returned to status quo after the war. In the war of 1971, Rinchen's Nubra Guards, now part of the Ladakh Scouts, captured further areas of Chorbat. They first took a 18,620-foot peak overlooking Chalunka. The two companies of Karakoram Scouts defending Chalunka were overpowered and retreated to Turtuk. Turtuk was then taken in four days, followed by Tyakshi and Thang.^[28] The villagers were frightened at first, but Rinchen reportedly alleviated their fears.^[29]

Division between India and Pakistan

After the 1971 war, India and Pakistan reached the Simla Agreement, whereby the ceasefire line of the war became the new Line of Control, permanently dividing Chorbat between India and Pakistan. , Antía Mato Bouzas quotes a Balti soldier, whose village came under Indian control, who alleged that Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not care about the Balti villages captured by India and neglected to negotiate their return unlike the areas in Azad Kashmir.^[30]

The citizenship of these village residents changed from Pakistan to India overnight. Aaquib Khan, an Indian journalist, claims that India treated the villagers well and integrated them into the national mainstream. During an interview to Khan, a villager reportedly praised the role of Indian Army in this regard.^[31] However, villagers who had gone to other parts of Pakistan before the war, for trade, study or travel, remained on the Pakistani side, never allowed to return home.^[32] Khan further claims that one member of a divided family reported going to the border carrying a white flag and a letter from the Indian Army, wanting to bring back his family. But he was detained by the Pakistani Army on the suspicions of being an Indian spy and refused return to home.^[33]

Balti activist Senge Sering claims that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attempted to introduce jihad into this area. Local people were uncertain about their loyalties because they had lived under both Pakistani and Indian control, and some served in the Pakistan Army before India's take-over. Many of them also had relatives across the Line of Control who were subject to intimidation by the ISI. During the Kargil infiltration by Pakistan, some local people were suspected of having assisted the infiltrators. The Indian Army took some of them into custody, but later reportedly released them all, says Sering.^[34]

Alleged Indian intrusions

Pakistani sources allege that, in 1972, shortly after the signing of the Shimla Agreement, Indian troops crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in the Chorbat La sector and seized about four square miles of Pakistani territory.^[35] In 1988, India again crossed the LoC and seized four Pakistani posts in the Qamar sector, which lies between the Chorbat Valley and NJ9842.^{[35][36][unreliable source?]}