Region of Gilgit-Baltistan
The region of Gilgit-Baltistan is the northern portion of the Kashmir region, north of the “Line of Control” and a disputed area between Pakistan and India. It became a separate administrative unit in 1970 as the “Northern Areas”, and consisted of the Gilgit Agency, small princely states like Hunza, and Baltistan. In 2009 it got limited autonomy and was renamed “Gilgit-Baltistan”. Its flag is dark green and features, in very pale green and white, a shield with an ibex on a column, the K-2 mountain, fir trees and the head of a Kashmir Markhor, the national animal of Pakistan. Above the shield, surrounded by a wreath, is the crescent and star.