Delusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan’s Northern Frontier

Delusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan’s Northern Frontier by Nosheen Ali is a long-awaited, timely contribution that adds significantly to the debate on Gilgit-Baltistan, especially as the world is in the process of discovering these otherwise lesser-known areas. Gilgit-Baltistan was a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir that has been under Pakistan’s control since 1947. Ever since the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession in India’s favour, India’s extant claim on the territory continues to challenge Pakistan’s control over the area. Lately, due to China’s unfettered presence and activities in Gilgit-Baltistan, it has been on the centrestage of regional geopolitics, and more prominently, geo-economics, given the ambitious China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through the area, the only land link between the steadfast strategic partners China and Pakistan.