Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has decided to appoint the Mir of Hunza, Ghazanfar Ali Khan as the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, according to a tweet posted by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on its official Twitter account.
At present, Chaudhry Barjees Tahir is the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan by virtue of holding the portfolio of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan.
The last Mir of Hunza was Mir Muhammad Jamal Khan but the title ‘Mir’ is used by the 69-year-old Ghazanfar Ali Khan.
Ghazanfar Ali Khan served as the first chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, at a time when General Pervez Musharraf was president of Pakistan. His native town is Karimabad, the traditional seat of the Mirs of Hunza. Amongst other benefits to the former rulers, the federal government also pays a privy purse or a monthly stipend to the current Mir, Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan.
His son, Prince Shehryar Khan, took part in the 2009 election on PML-N’s ticket.
Hunza was a princely state during the rule of the British from 1892 to 1947. After Partition, it joined Pakistan and remained a princely state within Pakistan, until 1974 when the status was abolished. The geographical area of Hunza is now in Aliabad Tehsil in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hunza-Nagar district.