Editing Gilgit (section)

=== 1947 Kashmir war ===
{{Main|Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948|1947 Gilgit rebellion}}
On 26 October 1947, [[Maharaja Hari Singh]] of Jammu and Kashmir, faced with a tribal invasion by Pakistan due to [[1947 Jammu massacres|Masscre of Muslims in Jammu by Hindus and Sikh mobs]], signed the [[Instrument of Accession]], joining India. The tribal invasion by Pakistan was not simply a tribal invasion. Pakistani Major General Akbar Khan has given account of the invasion in his book ''Raiders in Kashmir''. General Akbar Khan, then serving as a colonel in the Pakistan army, has described at least four meetings with Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan to discuss the planning and conduct of the operations. Justice Muhammad Yusuf Saraf, at the time a Muslim Conference activist, has pointed out that such a major operation could not have been launched without Jinnah's knowledge and approval. The 'Azad Forces' that were part of the so-called tribal invasion were led by Pakistan army officers, and the UNCIP report records Pakistan's admission that they were under Pakistan's 'tactical command'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Srivastava |first=Dinkar P. |title=Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of Control |publisher=[[HarperCollins India]] |year=2021 |isbn=9789390327775 |edition=1st |location=New Delhi |pages=28–29 |language=}}</ref>

Gilgit's military leaders did not favour the State's accession to India.{{sfn|Bangash|2010|p=128|ps=: [Ghansara Singh] wrote to the prime minister of Kashmir: 'in case the State accedes to the Indian Union, the Gilgit province will go to Pakistan', but no action was taken on it, and in fact Srinagar never replied to any of his messages.}} However, there was also written evidence of Gilgit troop leaders wanting to set up an independent Islamic state. Major William Brown in his book Gilgit Rebellion describes the Gilgit troop leaders stating, "''We know of course that you are loyal to Pakistan-all Britishers are-but it is not our intention to join Pakistan. We intend to set up an independent Islamic State called the United States of Gilgit, and although we shall keep the friendliest relation with Pakistan we shall in no way owe allegiance to that dominion''."{{sfn|Brown|2014}}{{page needed|date=March 2023}} The military leaders of the Frontier Districts Province (modern day Gilgit-Baltistan) wanted to join Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cPjAAAAQBAJ&q=muslims+in+jammu+province+and+frontier+province+wanted+to+join+pakistan+snedden&pg=PT14|title=Kashmir-The Untold Story|last=Snedden|first=Christopher|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers India|year=2013|isbn=9789350298985|quote=Similarly, Muslims in Western Jammu Province, particularly in Poonch, many of whom had martial capabilities, and Muslims in the Frontier Districts Province strongly wanted J&K to join Pakistan.}}</ref> Sensing their discontent, [[William Brown (British Army officer)|Major William Brown]], the Maharaja's commander of the [[Gilgit Scouts]], mutinied on 1 November 1947, [[1947 Gilgit rebellion|overthrowing the Governor Ghansara Singh]].{{sfn|Brown|2014|p=264}} The bloodless ''coup d'etat'' was planned by Brown to the last detail under the code name "Datta Khel", which was also joined by a rebellious section of the Jammu and Kashmir 6th Infantry under [[Col Mirza Hassan Khan|Mirza Hassan Khan]]. Brown ensured that the treasury was secured and minorities were protected. A provisional government (''Aburi Hakoomat'') was established by the Gilgit locals with Raja Shah Rais Khan as the president and Mirza Hassan Khan as the commander-in-chief. However, Major Brown had already telegraphed [[Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan]] asking Pakistan to take over. The Pakistani political agent, Khan Mohammad Alam Khan, arrived on 16 November and took over the administration of Gilgit.{{sfn|Schofield|2003|pp=63–64}}{{sfn|Bangash|2010}} Brown outmaneuvered the pro-Independence group and secured the approval of the mirs and rajas for accession to Pakistan. Browns's actions surprised the British Government.<ref name="Schofield2000">{{cite book|author=Victoria Schofield|title=Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC&pg=PA64|year=2000|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-898-4|pages=63–64}}</ref>

The provisional government lasted 16 days. The provisional government lacked sway over the population. The Gilgit rebellion did not have civilian involvement and was solely the work of military leaders, not all of whom had been in favor of joining Pakistan, at least in the short term. Historian [[Ahmed Hasan Dani]] mentions that although there was lack of public participation in the rebellion, sentiments were intense in the civilian population and their anti-Kashmiri sentiments were also clear.{{sfn|Bangash|2010}} According to various scholars, the people of Gilgit as well as those of Chilas, Koh Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin, Punial, Hunza and Nagar joined Pakistan by choice.{{sfn|Bangash|2010}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1024253/gilgit-baltistan-part-of-pakistan-by-choice/|title=Gilgit-Baltistan—part of Pakistan by choice|last=Bangash|first=Yaqoob Khan|date=9 January 2016|work=The Express Tribune|quote=Nearly 70 years ago, the people of the Gilgit Wazarat revolted and joined Pakistan of their own free will, as did those belonging to the territories of Chilas, Koh Ghizr, Ishkoman, Yasin and Punial; the princely states of Hunza and Nagar also acceded to Pakistan. Hence, the time has come to acknowledge and respect their choice of being full-fledged citizens of Pakistan.|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Zutshi2004">{{cite book|author=Chitralekha Zutshi|title=Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7Ptp4Iod8EC&pg=PA309|year=2004|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-700-2|pages=309–}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Sokefeld |first=Martin |title=From Colonialism to Postcolonial Colonialism: Changing Modes of Domination in the Northern Areas of Pakistan |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=64 |pages=939–973 |number=4 |date=November 2005 |doi=10.1017/S0021911805002287|s2cid=161647755 |url=https://boris.unibe.ch/115111/1/S0021911805002287.pdf }}</ref>