Skardu (, Tibetan script: སྐར་མདོ, ) is a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Skardu serves as the capital of Skardu District and the Baltistan Division. It is situated at an average elevation of nearly above sea level in the Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar rivers.
Skardu is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram mountain range. The Indus River running through the region separates the Karakoram from the Ladakh Range.
Etymology
The name "Skardu" is believed to be derived from the Balti word meaning "a lowland between two high places." The two referenced "high places" are Shigar city, and the high-altitude Satpara Lake.
The earliest mention of Skardu dates to the first half of the 16th century. Mirza Haidar (1499–1551) described Askardu in his Tarikh-i-Rashidi as a district of Baltistan. The first reference to Skardu in European literature was made by Frenchman François Bernier (1625–1688), who mentioned the city by the name of Eskerdou. Afterwards, Skardu was quickly drawn into Asian maps produced in Europe, and was first mentioned as Eskerdow in the map Indiae orientalis nec non insularum adiacentium nova descriptio, published by the Dutch engraver Nicolaes Visscher II between 1680 and 1700.
Location
right|thumb|Map including Skardu ([[Defense Mapping Agency|DMA, 1986)]]
The Skardu Valley is located approximately 180 kilometres off the main Karakoram Highway, linked to it via the Baltistan Highway. At the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers, the valley is wide by long. Active erosion in the nearby Karakoram Mountains has resulted in enormous deposits of sediment throughout the Skardu Valley. Glaciers from the Indus and Shigar valleys broadened the Skardu Valley between 3.2 million years ago up to the Holocene approximately 11,700 years ago by scientists estimate.
History
Early history
thumb|The [[Manthal Buddha Rock dates from the era when the region's population was Buddhist.]]
The Skardu Valley was a part of the cultural sphere of Buddhist Tibet since as early as the founding of the Tibetan Empire under Songtsen Gampo in the mid 7th-century CE. The evidence of past prevalence of tantric Buddhism in the form of Tibetan inscriptions is found across Baltistan.
Medieval history
Following the dissolution of Tibetan suzerainty over Baltistan around the 9th–10th century CE, the region came under the control of the Maqpon dynasty; the Maqpon dynasty based in Skardu ruled over Baltistan for around 700 years. Sikhs traditionally believe that Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, visited Skardu during his second udasi journey between 1510 and 1515.
alt=Valley town seen from above|thumb|The Skardu Valley is located on the banks of Indus River
In the early 16th century, Sultan Said Khan of the Timurid Yarkent Khanate in what is now Xinjiang province of China, raided Baltistan. Given the threat posed by Sultan Said's invasion, Mughal attention was roused, prompting the 1586 conquest of Baltistan by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Then Ali Sher Khan Anchan went to march on Gilgit with an army, and conquered Astore, Gilgit, Hunza, and Chilas. Mughal forces again intruded into the region during the reign of Shah Jahan in 1634–6 under the forces of Zafar Khan, to settle a dispute over the throne between the successors of Anchan, Adam Khan and his elder brother Abdul Khan. It was only after this point, during the rule of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, that Skardu's ruling family was firmly under Mughal influence. The ability of the Mughal crown to fund expeditions to territories of marginal value, such as Baltistan, was an evidence of the wealth in the Mughal coffers.
Modern history
In 1839, Dogra commander Zorawar Singh defeated Balti forces in battles at Wanko Pass and the Thano Kun plains, clearing his path for the invasion of the Skardu Valley. He seized Skardu Fort on behalf of the Dogra dynasty based in Jammu, under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire at that time. Singh's forces massacred a large number of the garrison's defenders, and publicly tortured Kahlon Rahim Khan of Chigtan in front of a crowd of local Baltis and their chiefs.
alt=Drawing of a bearded man holding a rifle|thumb|Ahmed Shah, the last Maqpon king before the 1840 Dogra invasion
Dogra forces failed in their 1841 attempt to conquer Tibet. Following their defeat, Ladakhis rebelled against Dogra rule. Baltis under the leadership of Raja Ahmed Shah soon rebelled against the Dogras as well, so maharaja Gulab Singh dispatched his commander Wazir Lakhpat to recapture Skardu. His forces were able to convince a guard to betray the garrison by leaving a gate unlocked, thereby allowing Dogra forces to recapture the fort and massacre its Balti defenders. The raja of the Baltis was forced to pay an annual tribute to the Dogra maharaja in Jammu, and also to supply the fort's provisions.
Following the Dogra victory, Muhammad Shah was crowned Raja of Skardu in return for his loyalty to the Jammu crown during the rebellion, and was able to exercise some power under the Dogra administration. By 1845, the region was completely subjugated by the Dogra rulers of Jammu. Military commanders held real governing power in the area even after the creation of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846, until 1851, when Kedaru Thanedar was installed as a civilian administrator of Baltistan. During this time, Skardu and Kargil were governed as a single district. Ladakh would later be joined to the district, while Skardu would serve as the winter capital of Ladakh Wazarat, with Leh as the summer capital, up until 1947.
Under the administration of Mehta Mangal between 1875 and 1885, Skardu's Ranbirgarh fort was built as his headquarters and residence, as well as a cantonment and various other government buildings. Sikhs from Punjab were also encouraged by Dogra dynasty to migrate to Skardu and to set up commercial enterprises during this period. The Sikh population prospered, and continued to grow, eventually also settling in nearby Shigar and Khaplu.
1947–48 Indo-Pakistan War
After the Partition of British India, on 22 October 1947, Pakistan launched a tribal invasion of princely state of Jammu and Kashmir after Poonch rebellion and Jammu Muslim massacres, leading to maharaja Hari Singh acceding to India on 26 October. The Gilgit Scouts, under the leadership of Major William Brown and Babar Khan, mutinied on 1 November 1947, bringing the Gilgit Agency under the control of Pakistan.
Major Aslam Khan took over the command of the Gilgit Scouts, organised a force of some 600 men from the rebels and local recruits as Ibex Force, and launched attacks on the remaining parts of the State under Indian control. Skardu was an important target because Aslam Khan felt that Gilgit could be threatened from there. The Skardu garrison was defended by a contingent of 6th Jammu and Kashmir Infantry under the command of Col. Sher Jung Thapa. The garrison was besieged by Ibex Force under Lt. Babar Khan in February 1948 as the city fell into the rebel hands, cutting off supplies to the garrison. In June col. Mata ul-Mulk and col. Burhan ud-Din, the brothers of Mehtar of Chitral, arrived with contingents of Chitral Bodyguard and Chitral Scouts. After holding the garrison for 6 months, Thapa and his forces surrendered to Mata ul-Mulk on 14 August 1948.
In Pakistan
Skardu became headquarters of the Baltistan Agency after 1948. Baltistan as well as Gilgit Agency was abolished in 1972 and merged to form Northern Areas, with Skardu becoming headquarters of Baltistan District; Northern Areas were renamed as Gilgit-Baltistan in 2009. Today Skardu is one of the primary cultural and administrative centres of the region, alongside Gilgit.
Administration
The city of Skardu constitutes a tehsil within Skardu District. Skardu District itself is part of the larger Baltistan Division. The Skardu city being a tehsil/taluka is administered by an Assistant Commissioner of BPS-17 belonging to the Pakistan Administrative service whereas Skardu District is administered by a Deputy Commissioner BPS-19 of the Pakistan Administrative Service.
Geography
Topography
thumb|Skardu's Katpana Lake
Skardu International Airport is situated at an elevation of above sea level, though the mountain peaks surrounding Skardu Valley reach elevations of . Upstream from Skardu are located large glaciers such as the Baltoro Glacier, Biafo Glacier, and Chogo Lungma Glacier, which are surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, including K2, ranked second globally at , Gasherbrum at , and Masherbrum at .