page_title: Skardu
section_title: 1947–48 Kashmir War
hierarchical_section_title: Skardu / History / 1947–48 Kashmir War
caption_attribution_description: English: MoonRise In Skardu Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan There is so much beauty when your eyes lay lost in all the city lights.
context_page_description: Skardu is a city in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and serves as the capital of Skardu District. Skardu is located in the 10 kilometres wide by 40 kilometres long Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers at an elevation of nearly 2,500 metres. The city is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram Mountain range. The town is located on the Indus river, which separates the Karakoram Range from the Himalayas.
context_section_description: After the Partition of British India, on 22 October 1947, Pakistan launched a tribal invasion of Kashmir by Pashtuns leading to the Maharaja Hari Singh acceding to India. The Gilgit Scouts, under the leadership of Major William Brown, 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, 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 defended by a contingent of 6th Jammu and Kashmir Infantry under the command of Col. Sher Jung Thapa. The initial attack was repulsed, but the city fell into the rebel hands. After holding the  garrison for 6 months and 3 days, Thapa and his forces surrendered on 14 August 1948, Pakistan's independence day.
caption: Skardu at dusk
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