Skardu District

District of Gilgit-Baltistan administered by Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Skardu District (Urdu: ضلع سکردو) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.^[1] The district headquarters is the town of Skardu, which is also the headquarters of Baltistan Division.^[2]

Administering countryPakistan

HeadquartersSkardu

Number of tehsils4

Quick facts ضلع سکردو, Administering country ...

Skardu District ضلع سکردو
District of Gilgit-Baltistan administered by Pakistan
Halma Ranga
Interactive map of Skardu district
A map showing Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan (shaded in sage green) in the disputed Kashmir region^[1]
Coordinates: 35°17′25″N 75°38′40″E
Administering country	Pakistan
Territory	Gilgit-Baltistan
Division	Baltistan Division
Headquarters	Skardu
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Karimdad Chugtai (PAS)
• District Police Officer	Hassan Ali (PSP)
• District Health Officer	N/A
Area ^[2]
• Total	10,168 km² (3,926 sq mi)
Population (2023)
• Total	278,885^[2]
Number of tehsils	4

Geography

Skardu District is bounded on the east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Kharmang District, on the west by the Astore District, on the north-west by the Gilgit District and on the north by the Shigar District.

Mountain peaks and glaciers

The highest peak in Skardu District is K2 (8,611 m), which is the highest peak in Pakistan and the second-highest in the world. The Baltoro Muztagh, the subrange of the Karakoram Mountains that includes the mighty peaks of K2 (8,611 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m), the Gasherbrums (8,000+ m), and Masherbrum (7,821 m), is located in Skardu District. Askole is the last settlement in the district for all treks to Concordia (the confluence of the Baltoro Glacier and the Godwin-Austen Glacier). The Biafo Glacier and a major part of the Hispar Glacier are also located in Skardu District.^[3] Overall, 27% of the district consists of alpine and winter pastures, and 71% is either barren or permanently snow covered.^[4]

Deosai National Park

The Deosai Plateau, which is one of the highest plateaus in the world, falls under the jurisdiction of Skardu District. For centuries the people of Skardu including Sadpara village, and Yultar Area (Newranga, Astana, Kushmara, Fapa, Kharpito etc) have used Deosai as pasture land in summers for grazing their domesticated animals. The Deosai Plateau is the second- highest plateau in the world, after the Tibetan Plateau. Famous places in the Deosai National Park are, Chogo Chu (Bara Pani), Naqpo Chu (Kala Pani), Shatong Nala, Sheosar Tso (lake).

Lakes

The main lakes in the district are:

Foroq Tso (Kachura Lake)
Sadpar Tso (Satpara Lake)
Kachura Tso (Shangrila Lake)
Sheosar Tso (Sheosar Lake)

Mountain passes

The Gondogoro Pass and Burgy La (Burgy Pass) are located in Skardu District.

History

Skardu District largely overlaps with the Skardu Valley section of larger Indus Valley and Deosai Plains. The Maqpon dynasty got established in Skardu near the end of 14th century. Maqpon Bokha founded the town of Skardu in early 1500s. Afterwards it remained under the control of Maqpons until the Dogra invasion of Baltistan in 1840. In the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, established under British suzerainty in 1846, Skardu was one of the three tehsils of Ladakh Wazarat along with Leh and Kargil, with Skardu Tehsil roughly corresponding to present-day Baltistan Division. After 1947 Gilgit Rebellion and Pakistani victory in the siege of Skardu, it became a part of Pakistan. Skardu was set up as an independent agency, Baltistan Agency, which was later merged with Gilgit Agency to create Northern Areas in 1972, the same year Skardu District was established. In 1989 Ghanche District was separated from it, followed by Shigar and Kharmang in 2015.

Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2015, Skardu District is ranked 14th out of 148 districts of Pakistan in terms of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district is ranked 89th out of 148 districts.^[5]

Major towns

The major towns of Skardu District are: Newranga, Roundu, Hussainabad, Sadpara, Gamba, Kowardo, Qomrah, Sermik, Chunda, Tandal, Thorgu, Narh, Gol, Koshmara, Atana, Rgya Yul, Sondus, Kharpito, Fapa, Katpana, Shagharthang, Sok, Hoto, Shilla, Shigari Bala, Basho, Kachura and Skardu town areas including Olding, Khargrong, Sakmaidan, Yultar, Haji Gam, Hassan Colony, Manthal, and Chumik.

Demographics

People of Skardu District are predominantly of the Shia sect of Islam, where 97% of the people are of the Shia sect, 2% are of the Noorbakshi sect, and 1% of the Sunni sect.^[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 (d), 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 (f) through (h) below, "held" is also considered politicized usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (i) 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 betw een 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) Kashmir, region Indian subcontinent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 15 August 2019 (subscription required) Quote: "... China became active in the eastern area of Kashmir in the 1950s and has controlled the northeastern part of Ladakh (the easternmost portion of the region) since 1962.";
(g) 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. AJK has six districts: Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh, Kodi, Rawalakot, and Poonch. Its capital is the town of Muzaffarabad. AJK has its own institutions, but its political life is heavily controlled by Pakistani authorities, especially the military), 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."
(h) 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.";
(i) 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]
"District Skardu Tourist Destinations". Tourism, Sports, Culture, Archaeology & Museums Department, Government of Gilgit Baltistan. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
[4]
Shah, Imran. "Skardu District". Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
[5]
"Individual district profile link, 2015". Alif Ailaan. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
[6]
"Sectarian Conflict in Gilgit-Baltistan". PILDAT. 1 May 2011.