Balawaristan (, ), is a term coined by Nawaz Khan Naji, founder of the Pakistani political party Balawaristan National Front (BNF), for a proposed autonomous province or a sovereign state consisting of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

and

Kohistan Kohistan (, , ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to: In Afghanistan *Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province ** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the former Kohistan Distr ...

regions in Pakistan. Although the name, first used in 1989, does not have any historical basis, it sounds similar to Baloristan, which has been documented in Chinese sources to describe

Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

and Gilgit Valley from the 8th century CE. BNF activists affirm that Balawaristan is not a part of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

and has a unique identity. They also consider the people of Gilgit Baltistan to be the fourth party in the Kashmir dispute, the other three being Pakistan, India and Kashmir.

Etymology

Historically, the Baltistan region was called "Great Bolor" and Dardistan and parts of Brooshal (e.g. Gilgit Valley) were called "Little Bolor. Great Boloristan is known to have sent ambassadors to the Chinese court in the 8th century. The Mons, an Indo-Aryan group, made the region as a hub of Buddhism. Chinese historian

Faxian Faxian (337–), formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Fa-hien and Fa-hsien, was a Han Chinese, Chinese Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist bhikkhu, monk and translator who traveled on foot from Eastern Jin dynasty, Jin China to medieval India t ...

mentioned it as ''Pololo'' or ''Palolo'', Tibetans called it Nang-khod, where Arab historians mentioned it as ''Baloristan''. The people of this region though belonging to various ethnicities, have historically been referred to as Balors, which means the highlanders or

mountain people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

, a reference to the high-altitudes prevalent in this area. An alternative theory links the name to a mythic ancient king called Bolor Shah, who had first united the region and from whom local rulers in turn often claimed descent.

Political status movements

In more recent times, the name Balawaristan is found used by Gilgiti political party like Balawaristan National Front led by Nawaz Khan Naji. The party is seeking to declare

as the fifth province of Pakistan. The party has been represented in the

Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly (GBA), formerly known as Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA), is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani territory (''de facto'' province) of Gilgit-Baltistan which is located i ...

by a single member, the aforementioned Nawaz Khan Naji, since 2011. The Balawaristan National Students Organisation, in April 2008, raised a demand for Balawaristan to be constituted into the fifth province of Pakistan.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{coord, 35, 35, N, 75, 9, E, source:fawiki_type:adm1st_region:PK, display=title Regions of Pakistan Politics of Pakistan Regions of Gilgit-Baltistan History of Gilgit Agency History of Gilgit-Baltistan Proposed provinces and territories of Pakistan

Etymology

Political status movements

See also

References

Bibliography