khaplu city is the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of GILGIT-BALTISTAN in Pakistan.It was the second largest kingdom in old Baltistan of Yabgo dynasty.It guarded the trade route to Ladakh (now in India)along the Shyok River.
History
Khaplu Palace was build in 1840 by the Yabgo Raja Daulat Ali Khan of Khaplu after the Dogra of Kashmir who captured the region decided to move the seat of government from the old fort. The site of the palace was chosen by rolling a large stone down from a nearby cliff it stopped at the Doqsai village, and the palace was built there.Khaplu Palace replaced the former fort as the royal residence after its completion. According to Jane E. Duncan the people of Khaplu used to live inside this fort and were not allowed to build their homes outside its premises. This practice was changed after Maharaja of Kashmir took control of the area, resulting in a cessation of conflict among neighboring rulers.
The former fort was captured by Murad Khan of Maqpon Dynasty, the ruler of Baltistan, in the Conquest of Khaplu in the 1590 by cutting off the water and other supplies to the fort. The troops of Murad besieged the fort for three months, resulting in the surrender of Rahim Khan, the 62nd Yabgo dynasty ruler of Khaplu. The fort again fell to the invaders in the 1660s and 1674.
The Yabgo descendants continued to live there even after their kingdom was abolished in 1972. The last Raja of Khaplu who lived in the house was Raja Fatah Ali Khan, who died in 1983.
In
2002 rehabilitation of the historic settlements of Hunduli and Banpi were
initiated, using simple and low cost interventions such as improved composting
community latrines, places for washing clothes and bathrooms for men and women,
while improving the provision of piped water delivery and stone paving of the
pathways and streets. Meanwhile the establishment of the Khaplu Town Management
and Development Society (KTMDS) as the local community institution similar to
TMS bodies nurtured in Hunza allowed for local ownership of the development
through culture model.
Royal palace in Khaplu Baltistan
