Hunza (princely state)

Hunza (Persian: هنزه, Urdu: ہنزہ), also known as Kanjut (Persian: کانجوت; Urdu: کنجوت), was a Burusho princely state in the present-day Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan. Although under the suzerainty of the Jammu and Kashmir, it was not a part of it and had status of a separate state. Initially, it functioned as a principality and subsequently became a princely state under a subsidiary alliance with the British India starting in 1892 and continuing until August 1947. For a brief period of three months, it remained unaligned after gaining independence, and then from November 1947 until 1974, it retained its status as a princely state within Pakistan.

The princely state bordered the Gilgit Agency to the south, the former princely state of Nagar to the east, Xinjiang, China, to the northeast and Afghanistan to the northwest. The state's capital was Baltit (also known as Karimabad). The former princely state of Hunza is now the Hunza District in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan.