Kharmang District

Administrative unit of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kharmang District (Urdu:ضلع کھرمنگ) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.^[2]^[1] Located in the district is the Kharmang Valley, which is one of the five main valleys in the Baltistan Division.

HeadquartersTolti

Number of tehsils3

Quick facts ضلع کھرمنگ, Territory ...

Kharmang District ضلع کھرمنگ
District of Gilgit-Baltistan administered by Pakistan^[1]
Map of Gilgit-Baltistan showing its districts
Interactive map of Kharmang District
Coordinates (Tolti): 35°1′43″N 76°5′33″E
Territory	Gilgit-Baltistan
Division	Baltistan Division
Headquarters	Tolti
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Jaffar Ali (DMS)
• District Police Officer	Ahmed Shabbir (PSP)
• District Health Officer	N/A
Area ^[2]
• Total	6,144 km² (2,372 sq mi)
Population (2023)
• Total	61,304^[2]
• Density	9.978/km² (25.84/sq mi)
Number of tehsils	3

Geography

It is bounded on the north by the Skardu District, on the north-east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Indian-administered Kargil and Leh districts, and on the west by the Astore District. Its district headquarters is at Tolti.^[3] Less than 5% of the district consists of alpine pastures, with over 93% of remaining area being permanently snow covered.^[4]

Historical background

The Kharmang District is centred around Kharmang Valley section of the larger Indus Valley. Historically ruled by Maqpon dynasty of Skardu, Kharmang was conquered by Dogras in 1840. In the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, established under British suzerainty in 1846, Kharmang was initially a part of Skardu tehsil of Ladakh Wazarat. In 1901 it was transferred to the newly created Kargil tehsil. Following 1947 Gilgit Rebellion it along with rest of Baltistan became part of Pakistan. It remained a subdivision of Skardu District until 2015, when it was granted district status.^[5]

Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, Kharmang was ranked 119th out of 155 districts with respect to school infrastructure and facilities. In Kharmang there are multiple government and private organization schools which includes Middle School Mayurdu, Higher secondary school Mayurdu ^[6]

References

[1]
The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (e), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (h) through (i) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (j) below).
(a) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
(b) Pletcher, Kenneth, Aksai Chin, Plateau Region, Asia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 16 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
(c) "Kashmir", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2006, p. 328, ISBN 978-0-7172-0139-6 C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
(d) Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan (2003), Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Taylor & Francis, pp. 1191–, ISBN 978-0-415-93922-5 Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
(e) Talbot, Ian (2016), A History of Modern South Asia: Politics, States, Diasporas, Yale University Press, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-0-300-19694-8 Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.";
(f) Skutsch, Carl (2015) [2007], "China: Border War with India, 1962", in Ciment, James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II (2nd ed.), London and New York: Routledge, p. 573, ISBN 978-0-7656-8005-1, The situation between the two nations was complicated by the 1957–1959 uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. Refugees poured across the Indian border, and the Indian public was outraged. Any compromise with China on the border issue became impossible. Similarly, China was offended that India had given political asylum to the Dalai Lama when he fled across the border in March 1959. In late 1959, there were shots fired between border patrols operating along both the ill-defined McMahon Line and in the Aksai Chin.
(g) Clary, Christopher, The Difficult Politics of Peace: Rivalry in Modern South Asia, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 109, ISBN 9780197638408, Territorial Dispute: The situation along the Sino-Indian frontier continued to worsen. In late July (1959), an Indian reconnaissance patrol was blocked, "apprehended," and eventually expelled after three weeks in custody at the hands of a larger Chinese force near Khurnak Fort in Aksai Chin. ... Circumstances worsened further in October 1959, when a major class at Kongka Pass in eastern Ladakh led to nine dead and ten captured Indian border personnel, making it by far the most serious Sino-Indian class since India's independence.
(h) Bose, Sumantra (2009), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, pp. 294, 291, 293, ISBN 978-0-674-02855-5 Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million.), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control."
(i) Fisher, Michael H. (2018), An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge University Press, p. 166, ISBN 978-1-107-11162-2 Quote: "Kashmir’s identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";
(j) Snedden, Christopher (2015), Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris, Oxford University Press, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-84904-621-3 Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'."
[2]
"Gilgit Baltistan at a Glance 2024" (PDF). Planning & Development Department Statistical & Research Cell (SRC), Government of Gilgit-Baltistan. June 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
[3]
"کھرمنگ میں موسم سرما کی پہلی برفباری، کئی مقامات پر 5انچ تک برف ریکارڈ کیا گیا". Pamir Times (in Urdu). 11 December 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
[4]
Shah, Imran. "Kharmang District". Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
[5]
"Dividing governance: Three new districts notified in G-B - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
[6]
"Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017" (PDF). elections.alifailaan.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2019.

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