Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)

Capital: capital of Azad Kashmir id Muzaffarabad and has an estimated population of about four million.

Time zone PST (UTC+5)

Status self-governing state under Pakistani control

• Districts are 8

• Towns are * 19

• Union Councils * 182

Established :It was established in 1948

• Legislature (seats) : Legislative Assembly is of (49)

• President Raja Zulqarnain Khan

• Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan

The POK usually shortened to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) or, simply, Azad Kashmir (literally, "free or freed Kashmir"), is the southernmost political entity of the Pakistani part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir

Location: It borders the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir to the east, the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan to the west, the Northern Areas to the North east and the Punjab Province Pakistan to its south and south west.

Area: It covers an area of 13,297 km² (5,134 mi²), with its capital at Muzaffarabad, and has an estimated population of about four million.

The state's financial matters, i.e., budget and tax affairs, are dealt with by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, instead of 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 Azad Kashmir's own president and prime minister and a few other AJK ministers.

History Map of the Kashmir regionAfter the partition of British India in 1947 the Princely states were given the option of merging with India or Pakistan. Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir against the wishes of people of Kashmir wished to remain independent. To appease the masses he signed a stand alone agreement which was in direct violation of the notion that the princely states would go either with Pakistan or India. As the Maharajah hesitated calls for a union with Pakistan grew particularly within Azad Kashmir. This led to demonstrations and days of civil unrest that the Maharajah tried to put down which triggered a war. But Nehru's government knew, although it never conceded it in public, that there had been a fairly spontaneous revolt in the Jhelum valley and other parts of what is now Azad Kashmir, against the Maharajah's decision to accede to India. This was also well before the arrival of any “raiders” from the NWFP region.

LasDana-HajiPir Road Bagh AJ&KThe people of Azad Kashmir were known for their immense martial spirit and have resisted invaders through the ages such as the Sikhs, British and Dogra’s. Leaders such as Raja Sultan Khan of Bhimber are etched into the memoires of the Azad Kashmir people as are the famous rebellions of the Gakkhars of Mirpur and the Mangral Rajputs in Kotli. The British used the Mirpur as a recruiting ground for the British Indian army

Azad Kashmir was awash with battle hardened troops who had returned to their families from serving in the British army during the Second World War. In a series of pitched battles the Dogra forces were practically wiped out due to the superior quality of the Azad Kashmir forces and entire districts of Azad Kashmir such as Mirpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad were freed from Dogra rule. Upon hearing news of the fighting in Azad Kashmir and the plan to take the fight to Srinagar tribal Pathan fighters from what is now known as FATA and NWFP came to help their brethren. Having no need to head into Azad Kashmir the tribal armies entered into the valley along with a few Pakistani officers to oversee the operations. Upon arrival in the valley they were met by Indian troops already there. Contrary to the popular belief that once the raiders had arrived then Indian troops were flown after the invasion. Alaistar Lamb, author of a series of books on Kashmir, has discovered evidence based on declassified military papers that India had Patalia gunners at the Sringar airport by October 17 1947, and has scoffed at the Indian apologists who propose that India’s invasion of Kashmir was the triumph of improvisation. Instead, he states that India had troops mobilized for an invasion of Kashmir by October 25th This would mean that India’s army was in Kashmir before the decision of the Mahrajah. With India’s army already in Kashmir it is obvious why the Maharajah would hand his country over to India.

Because of the injustice displayed by India, the Treaty of Accession, if it was even signed, is nullified and void. The Indian troops managed to push the irregular forces back but were then engaged by the Pakistani army. Fighting continued and the front managed to stabilise at points near what is known today as the line of control. However Pakistani forces held a great deal of the higher ground and key points and the Indian armed forces were dangerously spread thin and running short of supplies. The battle of Beri Pattan illustrates just how precarious the position of the Indian armed forces was along with a hostile population.

As this point Nehru the prime minister of India went to the UN for a ceasefire which was agreed to by Pakistan on the basis of Nehru’s great promise to the Kashmir people that still needs to be fulfilled. This was the promise of a referendum or plebiscite i.e. that the people of Kashmir have the right to self-determination. When it signed the ceasefire in 1948, India promised to offer Kashmiri’s a plebiscite, where they could decide whether to join India or Pakistan, or remain independent. In his won words On October 31, 1947, Nehru wired to Liaquat Ali Khan that this "is not merely a pledge to your government but also to the people of Kashmir and to the world". On November 2 and 3 he used the word "referendum" under U.N. auspices.

The matter was brought up in the U.N. and resolutions were passed to hold a plebiscite with regards to Kashmir's future. Both Pakistan and India have not undertaken plebiscites in their respective areas of control in Kashmir. A legal requirement of holding the plebiscite is the vacation by the Indian and Pakistani armies of their respective parts of Kashmir under their administration. A cease fire line separates the Indian and the Pakistani Kashmir territories.

A copy of the ceasefire order can be seen here.

The status quo on the line of control has remained ever since. The northern and western parts of Kashmir were subsequently divided by Pakistan into the following 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 (15 to 65 km). Northern Areas - the much larger area to the north of AJK, 72,496 km² (27,991 mi² ), directly administered by Pakistan as a de facto dependent territory, i.e., a non-self-governing territory. Trans-Karakoram Tract - the small region along the northeastern border of the Northern Areas that was ceded by Pakistan to the People's Republic of China in 1963.

Government Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is a self-governing state under Pakistani control. It has its own elected president, prime minister, legislature, high court, and official flag. The state is divided into two administrative divisions which, in turn, are composed of a total of eight districts.

Demographics Like Pakistan, Azad Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. The majority of the population is culturally, linguistically and ethnically related to the people of Northern Punjab.

The population of Azad Kashmir includes the following tribes:Awan Abbasi Ansari Butt Dar Douli Gilani Gujar Jarral Jat Qureshi Malik Mughal Pashtuns Rajput Rachyals Sudhan Tarkhan Thakial Rajputs

Languages Urdu is the national language of Azad Kashmir but is only spoken by a minority. The dominant language spoken in AJK is Pahari. It is very similar to Pothwari and Hindko.