Gilgit-Baltistan (Urdu: گلگت - بلتستان, Balti: formerly known as the Northern Areas (Urdu: شمالي علاقہ جات, Shum?l? Il?qe J?t)),[4] is the northernmost political entity within Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the southeast. Gilgit-Baltistan covers an area of 72,971 km² (28,174 mi²) and is highly mountainous. It has an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. Its administrative center is the city of Gilgit (population 216,760).The territory became a single administrative unit in 1970 under the name Northern Areas and was formed by the amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan District of the Ladakh Wazarat, and the states of Hunza and Nagar. Pakistan and the majority of the local inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan consider the territory separate and distinct from Kashmir.
