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About Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir azaad jammu o- kashmir ; AJK) or Azad Kashmir for short (literally, “Free Kashmir”), is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It borders the present-day Indian-controlled state ofJammu and Kashmir to the east (separated from it by theLine of Control), the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan to the west, the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) to the north, and the Punjab Province of Pakistan to the south. With its capital at Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir covers an area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi) and has an estimated population of about four million.After the Partition of India in 1947, the princely states were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan. However, Hari Singh, the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted Jammu and Kashmir to remain independent. In order to buy some time, he signed a stand-still agreement, which sidestepped the agreement that each princely state would join either India or Pakistan. Later there was a revolution by Muslims in the western part of the kingdom[3] and the raiders from North-West Frontier Province and the Tribal Areas feared that Hari Singh might join the Indian Union. In October 1947, supported by the Pakistani Army, they attacked Kashmir and tried to take over control of Kashmir. Initially Hari Singh tried to resist their progress but failed. Hari Singh then requested the Indian Union to help. India responded that it could not help unless Kashmir joined India. So on 26 October 1947, Kashmir accession papers were signed and Indian troops were airlifted to Srinagar. Fighting ensued between the Indian Army and Pakistani Army, with control stabilizing more or less around what is now the “Line of Control”.Later, India approached the United Nations to solve the dispute and resolutions were passed to hold a plebiscite with regard to Kashmir’s future. However, this plebiscite has not been held on either side, since the legal requirement for the holding of a plebiscite was the withdrawal of the Indian and Pakistani armies from the parts of Kashmir that were under their respective control-a withdrawal that never did take place. [5] In 1949, a cease-fire line separating the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir was formally put into effect.Following the 1949 cease-fire agreement, the government of Pakistan divided the northern and western parts of Kashmir which it held into the following two separately-controlled political entities:
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) – the narrow southern part, 250 miles (400 km) long, with a width varying from 10 to 40 miles (16 to 64 km).
Gilgit-Baltistan formerly called Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) – is the much larger area to the north of AJK, 72,496 square kilometres (27,991 sq mi); it was directly administered by Pakistan as ade facto dependent territory, i.e., a non-self-governing territory. However it was officially granted full autonomy on August 29, 2009.
An area of Kashmir that was once under Pakistani control is the Shaksgam tract-a small region along the northeastern border of the Northern Areas that was provisionally ceded by Pakistan to the People’s Republic of China in 1963 and which now forms part of China’s Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.
In 1972, the then-current border between Pakistani and Indian, which held areas of Kashmir, was designated as the “Line of Control”. The Line of Control has remained unchanged[7] since the 1972 Simla Agreement, which bound the two countries “to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.” Some political experts claim that, in view of that pact, the only solution to the issue is mutual negotiation between the two countries without involving a third party, such as the United Nations.
A devastating earthquake hit Azad Kashmir in 2005.
Government
Districts of Azad KashmirAzad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is a self-governing state under Pakistani control but is not constitutionally part of Pakistan. It has its own elected president, prime minister, legislature, high court, and official flag. The government of Pakistan has not yet allowed the state to issue its own postage stamps, however, and Pakistani stamps are used in the state instead.Azad Kashmir’s financial matters, i.e., budget and tax affairs, are dealt with by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, rather than by Pakistan’s Central Board of Revenue. The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council is a supreme body consisting of 11 members, six from the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and five from the government of Pakistan. Its chairman/chief executive is the president of Pakistan. Other members of the council are the president and the prime minister of Azad Kashmir and a few other AJK ministers.The state is administratively divided into three divisions which, in turn, are divided into ten districts.
|
Division |
District |
Area (km²) |
Population (1998) |
Headquarters |
|
Mirpur |
Bhimber | 1,516 | 301,633 | Bhimber |
| Kotli | 1,862 | 563,094 | Kotli | |
| Mirpur | 1,010 | 333,482 | Mirpur | |
|
Muzaffarabad |
Muzaffarabad | 2,496 | 638,973 | Muzaffarabad |
| Hattian | ? | ? | Hattian Bala | |
| Neelum | 3,621 | 106,778 | Athmuqam | |
|
Poonch |
Poonch | 855 | 411,035 | Rawalakot |
| Haveli | 600 (est.) | 150,000 (est.) | Forward Kahuta | |
| Bagh | 768 | 243,415 | Bagh | |
| Sudhnati | 569 | 334,091 | Pallandari | |
|
AJK total |
10 districts | 13,297 | 2,972,501 | Muzaffarabad |
A 2008 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees determined that Pakistan-administered Kashmir was ‘not free’. There are roughly 1.5 million refugees from Indian Administered Kashmir in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan.
Geography and Climate
Azad Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. The majority of the population is culturally, linguistically, and ethnically related to the people of northern Punjab. The article Ethnic groups of Azad Kashmir gives a breakdown of all the major tribes in the state. The vast majority of the people from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, despite that region being referred to as part of Kashmir, do not speak Kashmiri or any of its dialects. A large majority of Kashmiris have relatives who live in England. Mirpur in particular retains strong links with the UK.
Ethnic Groups
Urdu is the official language of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. However, due to the area’s diverse cultural blend, many languages are spoken by different populations, including Pahari-Potwari, Kashmiri, Gojri, Punjabi and Pashto.
Languages
Urdu is the official language of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. However, due to the area’s diverse cultural blend, many languages are spoken by different populations, including Pahari-Potwari, Kashmiri, Gojri, Punjabi and Pashto.
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Economy and Resources
The literacy rate in Azad Kashmir was 62% in 2004, higher than in any other region in Pakistan. However, only 2.2% were graduates, compared to the average of 2.9% for the whole of Pakistan.
Education
Kashmir (Balti, Gojri, Poonchi/Chibhali, Dogri: कश्मीर; Kashmiri: कॅशीर, کٔشِیر; Ladakhi: ཀཤམིར; Uyghur: كەشمىر; Shina: کشمیر) is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. Today Kashmir denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit–Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.
Gallery
This section looks like an image gallery. Wikipedia policy discourages galleries of random images of the article subject; please edit or remove the section accordingly, moving freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons if not already hosted there. (January 2009)
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Sheru Dhara, Bagh
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Banjosa, Rawalakot
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Kotli
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Kotli District
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Mangla Dam, adjacent to Mirpur
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Typical houses in Mirpur
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Toli Pir
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Banjosa rest house and lake
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Rawalakot bazaar
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Bagh, city view
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Notable Kashmiris
- Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, former PM and president of Azad Kashmir
- Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, Sufi saint
- Baba-e-Poonch Khansahib Col Khan Muhammad Khan, MLA for Tehsil Bagh and Sudhonoti, 1934–1946
- Aziz Khan, former chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Pakistan
- Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, former PM and president of Azad Kashmir
- Sardar Muhammad Anwar Khan, vice-chief of the General Staff
- Baba Shadi Shaheed, Sufi saint
- Tassadaq Hussain Khan, former army chief
- Barrister Sultan Mahmood, former prime minister of Azad Kashmir
- Lord Nazir Ahmed, member of the UK House of Lords
- Karam Hussain, mayor of Kirklees, UK
- Khalid Mahmood, member of the UK parliament
- Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Karelvi, Muslim MLA during Dogra rule
- Kabir Ali, British-Kashmiri cricket player
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