November 1 is marked as the day of independence of Gilgit-Baltistan. On this day in 1947, the indigenous people of GB forced the Dogra army to leave the region. For almost half a month, Gilgit-Baltistan remained an independent state, unannexed to either India or Pakistan. But on 16 November, Gilgit-Baltistan voluntarily acceded to Pakistan.

Since then, the status of GB has been in abeyance. Although the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 1(2)(c) clearly declares the annexed territories as part of Pakistan, the actual legal status of Gilgit-Baltistan is yet to be determined. Successive governments have attempted to assimilate the region into Pakistan over the past seven decades but have not presented a robust constitutional package to extricate the region from this limbo.

After its annexation, it remained under the control of the Federally Administered Tribal Area. Until 1949, the area was ruled by bureaucracy, which enforced the stringent FCR law to administer the region. In 1949, the federal government and the Kashmir government signed the notorious Karachi Agreement without involving the representatives of GB in the agreement. This agreement handed over the region to KANA in 1950. Since then, the region has been considered part of Kashmir, and its fate has been inextricably linked to that of Kashmir.

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