86-526: The Plebiscite Front in Azad Kashmir , also called Mahaz-i-Raishumari , was founded by Amanullah Khan in collaboration with Abdul Khaliq Ansari and Maqbool Bhat in 1965. The organisation had an unofficial armed wing called National Liberation Front , which carried out sabotage activities in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the hijacking of Ganga . Amanullah Khan later moved to England, where he revived
172-568: A High Court , while the Government of Pakistan 's Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan serves as a link between itself and Azad Jammu and Kashmir's government, although the autonomous territory is not represented in the Parliament of Pakistan . Northern Azad Kashmir lies in a region that experiences strong vibrations of the earth as a result of the Indian plate underthrusting
258-644: A Srinagar court in September 1968. Major Amanullah's wing waiting to receive the volunteers at the Line of Control retreated, but it was arrested by the Pakistan Army. Maqbool Bhat's arrest brought the group's activities into the open, and sharply divided the Plebiscite Front. Nevertheless, they declared it an unconstitutional body and "banned" it. Meanwhile, Maqbool Bhat and Mir Ahmad escaped from
344-460: A "declaration of freedom". On October 4, an Azad Kashmir provisional government was declared in Lahore with Ghulam Nabi Gilkar as president under the assumed name "Mr. Anwar" and Sardar Ibrahim as the prime minister. Gilkar travelled to Srinagar and was arrested by the maharaja's government. Pakistani officials subsequently appointed Sardar Ibrahim as the president of the provisional government. At
430-506: A formal cease-fire line separating the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir came into effect. Following the 1949 cease-fire agreement with India, the government of Pakistan divided the northern and western parts of Kashmir that it controlled at the time of the cease-fire into the following two separately controlled political entities: In 1955, the Poonch uprising broke out. It
516-625: A former soldier in the Azad Kashmir forces, was in charge of the armed wing while Amanullah Khan and Mir Abdul Qayoom took charge of the political and financial wings. Maqbool Bhat was made responsible for the overall coordination. All the members swore in blood that they would be ready to sacrifice their lives for the objective of the NLF, viz ., to create conditions in Jammu and Kashmir that enable its people to demand self-determination. The organisation
602-487: A major role in the economy of Azad Kashmir. One analyst estimated that the figure for Azad Kashmir was 25.1% in 2001. With regard to annual household income, people living in the higher areas are more dependent on remittances than are those living in the lower areas. In the latter part of 2006, billions of dollars for development were mooted by international aid agencies for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of earthquake-hit zones in Azad Kashmir, though much of that amount
688-636: A parliamentary form of government modelled after the British Westminster system , with the city of Muzaffarabad serving as its capital . The President of AJK is the constitutional head of state , while the Prime Minister , supported by a Council of Ministers , is the chief executive. The unicameral Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly elects both the Prime Minister and President. The territory has its own Supreme Court and
774-532: A second death sentence. Bhat's arrest effectively broke the back of the NLF in Azad Kashmir. Amanullah Khan moved to England, where he received the enthusiastic support of the British Mirpuri community. The UK chapter of the Plebiscite Front was converted into the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in May 1977 and formed an armed wing called the `National Liberation Army'. Amanullah Khan took charge as
860-754: A series of investigative stories on Indian military and intelligence failures preceding and during the Kargil conflict . His work on the Indian army's counter-terrorist operations won him the Prem Bhatia Memorial Award for Political Journalism in 2003. In 2006, he also won the Indian Express - Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism prize for "his extensive and in-depth reports on terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, and investigations into
946-475: Is Gujari . It is spoken by several hundred thousand people among the traditionally nomadic Gujars , many of whom are nowadays settled. Not all ethnic Gujars speak Gujari, the proportion of those who have shifted to other languages is probably higher in southern Azad Kashmir. Gujari is most closely related to the Rajasthani languages (particularly Mewati ), although it also shares features with Punjabi. It
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#17327840211681032-432: Is Urdu , while English is used in higher domains . The majority of the population, however, are native speakers of other languages. The foremost among these is Pahari–Pothwari with its various dialects. There are also sizeable communities speaking Kashmiri (mostly in the north), Gujari (throughout the territory), and Dogri (in the south), as well as pockets of speakers of Kundal Shahi , Shina and Pashto . With
1118-458: Is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 . Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir
1204-615: Is also used for several unrelated languages of the lower Himalayas. Going north, the speech forms gradually change into Hindko. Today, in the Muzaffarabad District the preferred local name for the language is Hindko , although it is still apparently more closely related to the core dialects of Pahari. Further north in the Neelam Valley the dialect, locally also known as Parmi , can more unambiguously be subsumed under Hindko. Another major language of Azad Kashmir
1290-550: Is an ongoing process of gradual shift to larger local languages, but at least in the Neelam Valley there still exist communities for whom Kashmiri is the sole mother tongue. There are speakers of Dogri in the southernmost district of Bhimber , where they are estimated to represent almost a third of the district's population. In the northernmost district of Neelam , there are small communities of speakers of several other languages. Shina , which like Kashmiri belongs to
1376-706: Is dispersed over large areas in northern Pakistan and India. Within Pakistan, the Gujari dialects of Azad Kashmir are more similar, in terms of shared basic vocabulary and mutual intelligibility, to the Gujar varieties of the neighbouring Hazara region than to the dialects spoken further to the northwest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north in Gilgit . There are scattered communities of Kashmiri speakers, notably in
1462-471: Is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (part of Indian-administered Kashmir ) by the Line of Control (LoC) , which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census . The territory has
1548-519: 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 14 members, 8 from the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 6 from the government of Pakistan. Its chairman/chief executive is the prime minister of Pakistan. Other members of the council are the president and the prime minister of Azad Kashmir (or an individual nominated by her/him) and 6 members of
1634-468: The British Mirpuri community. Nearly 87% of Azad Kashmiri households own farm property, and the region has the highest rate of school enrollment in Pakistan and a literacy rate of approximately 74%. Azad Kashmir (Free Kashmir) was the title of a pamphlet issued by the Muslim Conference party at its 13th general session held in 1945 at Poonch . It is believed to have been a response to
1720-548: The Eurasian plate . A major earthquake in 2005 killed at least 100,000 people and left another three million people displaced, causing widespread devastation to the region's infrastructure and economy. Since then, with help from the Government of Pakistan and foreign aid , reconstruction of infrastructure is underway. Azad Kashmir's economy largely depends on agriculture, services, tourism, and remittances sent by members of
1806-590: The Jhelum and Leepa rivers are common, due to high rainfall and melting snow. Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is nominally a self-governing state, but ever since the 1949 ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani forces, Pakistan has exercised control over the state without incorporating it into Pakistan. Azad Kashmir has its own elected president , prime minister , legislative assembly , high court (with Azam Khan as its present chief justice), and official flag . Azad Kashmir's budget and tax affairs, are dealt with by
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#17327840211681892-665: The National Conference 's Naya Kashmir (New Kashmir) programme. Sources state that it was no more than a compilation of various resolutions passed by the party. But its intent seems to have been to declare that the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir were committed to the Muslim League 's struggle for a separate homeland (Pakistan), and that the Muslim Conference was the sole representative organisation of
1978-446: The Neelam Valley , where they form the second-largest language group after speakers of Hindko. There have been calls for the teaching of Kashmiri (particularly in order to counter India's claim of promoting the culture of Kashmir), but the limited attempts at introducing the language at the secondary school level have not been successful, and it is Urdu, rather than Kashmiri, that Kashmiri Muslims have seen as their identity symbol. There
2064-606: The 1960s, with the construction of the Mangla Dam in Mirpur District , the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government began to receive royalties from the Pakistani government for the electricity that the dam provided to Pakistan. During the mid-2000s, a multibillion-dollar reconstruction began in the aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake . In addition to agriculture, textiles, and arts and crafts, remittances have played
2150-516: The AJK Legislative Assembly. Azad Kashmir Day is celebrated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on October 24, which is the day that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government was created in 1947. Pakistan has celebrated Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 of each year since 1990 as a day of protest against India 's de facto sovereignty over its State of Jammu and Kashmir . That day is a national holiday in Pakistan. Pakistan observes
2236-526: The AJK government, increased the powers of the elected assembly, granted Azad Kashmir greater financial and administrative powers and sought to make the federal territory more autonomous. The word "Act" was also deleted from the Constitution. At one time under Pakistani control, Kashmir's Shaksgam tract , a small region along the northeastern border of Gilgit–Baltistan, was provisionally ceded by Pakistan to
2322-692: The Christian community has been struggling to get residential status and property rights in AJK. There is no official data on the total number of Bahais in AJK. Only six Bahai families are known to be living in Muzaffarabad with others living in rural areas. The followers of the Ahmadi faith are estimated to be somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000, and most of them live in Kotli, Mirpur, Bhimber, and Muzaffarabad. Christopher Snedden writes that most of
2408-472: The General Secretary of JKLF the following February. Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (( Urdu : آزاد جموں و کشمیر , romanized : Āzād Jammū̃ o Kaśmīr , lit. 'Independent Jammu and Kashmir'), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( / ˌ ɑː z æ d k æ ʃ ˈ m ɪər / AH -zad kash- MEER ),
2494-493: The Government of India in return for military aid. Indian troops were immediately airlifted into Srinagar. Pakistan intervened subsequently. Fighting ensued between the Indian and Pakistani armies, with the two areas of control more or less stabilised around what is now known as the " Line of Control ". India later approached the United Nations, asking it to resolve the dispute, and resolutions were passed in favour of
2580-523: The Indian prison in December 1968, along with another inmate Ghulam Yasin, tunneling their way out of the prison complex. They returned to Azad Kashmir in January 1969, creating a sensation in the militant circles. Their standing increased within the community, forcing the Plebiscite Front to abandon its opposition. However, the NLF's failed operations in Jammu and Kashmir put at risk all its sympathisers in
2666-547: The Indian territory, sought an appointment in the Border Security Force to provide such help. Maqbool Bhat sent Qureshi replacement equipment for the hijacking, but it fell into the hands of a double agent, who then turned it over to the Indian authorities. Undeterred, the Qureshis made look-alike explosives out of wood and hijacked an Indian Airlines plane called Ganga on 30 January 1971. The hijackers landed
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2752-549: The Indian-controlled Kashmir also played a key role. In May 1976, Maqbool Bhat reentered the Indian-controlled Kashmir again. He was encouraged by the student protests against the 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord , by which Sheikh Abdullah agreed to return to constitutional politics. Bhat attempted to rob a bank in Kupwara . A bank employee was killed in the course of the robbery. Bhat was rearrested and received
2838-601: The Kashmir Accession Day as Black Day on October 27 of each year since 1947 as a day of protest against the accession of Jammu and Kashmir State to India and its military presence in the Indian-controlled parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Brad Adams , the Asia director at the U.S.-based NGO Human Rights Watch said in 2006: "Although 'azad' means 'free,' the residents of Azad Kashmir are anything but;
2924-564: The MKA was sidelined. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , then Prime-Minister of Pakistan, with some local support imposed the ' Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution Act, 1974 ’ (Interim till the Kashmir dispute was resolved with India). It allowed AJK a directly elected AJK Legislative Assembly , and a smaller indirectly elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council in Islamabad. This arrangement reduced
3010-413: The Muslims of Kashmir. However, the following year, the party passed an "Azad Kashmir resolution" demanding that the maharaja institute a constituent assembly elected on an extended franchise. According to scholar Chitralekha Zutshi , the organisation's declared goal was to achieve responsible government under the aegis of the maharaja without association with either India or Pakistan. The following year,
3096-636: The National Liberation Front under the new name Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The Plebiscite Front was the initiative of Gilgit -born Amanullah Khan , who after graduating with a law degree in Karachi, set up a Kashmir Independence Committee advocating the ideology of independence for the entire princely state of Jammu and Kashmir . In April 1965, the Kashmir Independence Committee merged into
3182-544: The Pakistani authorities claimed that the hijack was staged by India, and arrested the hijackers and all their collaborators. A one-man investigation committee headed by Justice Noorul Arifeen declared the hijacking to be an Indian conspiracy, citing Qureshi's appointment in the Border Security Force. In addition to the hijackers, Maqbool Bhat and 150 other NLF fighters were arrested. Seven people were eventually brought to trial (the rest being held without charges). The High Court acquitted them of treason charges. Hashim Qureshi alone
3268-418: The Pakistani authorities govern the Azad Kashmir government with tight controls on basic freedoms." Scholar Christopher Snedden has observed that despite tight controls, the people of Azad Kashmir have generally accepted whatever Pakistan has done to them, which in any case has varied little from how most Pakistanis have been treated (by Pakistan). According to Christopher Snedden , one of the reasons for this
3354-593: The People's Republic of China in 1963 which helped in resolving China-Pakistan boundary dispute and now the forms part of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In 1972, the then current border between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of Kashmir was designated as the " Line of Control ". This line has remained unchanged 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,
3440-505: The airport and paid a handsome tribute to the hijackers. Indian Government then refused to carry out the demands. The plane lay on the tarmac for eighty hours, during which the Pakistani security personnel thoroughly searched the air plane and removed papers and postal bags they found in it. Eventually, upon the advice of the authorities, Hashim Qureshi burnt the plane down. For some time, the Qureshis were lauded as heroes. After India reacted by banning overflight of Pakistani planes over India,
3526-545: The arrest of Anwar in Srinagar. On October 24, a second provisional government of Azad Kashmir was established at Palandri under the leadership of Sardar Ibrahim Khan . On October 21, several thousand Pashtun tribesmen from North-West Frontier Province poured into Jammu and Kashmir to help with the rebellion against the maharaja's rule. They were led by experienced military leaders and were equipped with modern arms. The maharaja's crumbling forces were unable to withstand
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3612-502: The broad Dardic group, is present in two distinct varieties spoken altogether in three villages. Pashto , of the Iranian subgroup and the majority language in the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is spoken in two villages, both situated on the Line of Control. The endangered Kundal Shahi is native to the eponymous village and it is the only language not found outside Azad Kashmir. As of 2021, GDP of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
3698-446: The corrupt practices of the Azad Kashmir leaders and, in reaction, the government arrested them and forced them to confess to being Indian agents. Further attempts by the NLF to infiltrate into Indian-controlled Kashmir also met with failure. Praveen Swami states that the organisation did not have enough funds and infrastructure, or support from other sources, to make an impact inside India. Paul Staniland adds that "State repression" in
3784-428: The culture of Jammu . Mirpur , Kotli , and Bhimber are all old towns of the Jammu region. Azad Jammu and Kashmir has an almost entirely Muslim population. According to data maintained by Christian community organizations, there are around 4,500 Christian residents in the region. Bhimber is home to most of them, followed by Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. A few dozen families also live in Kotli, Poonch, and Bagh. However,
3870-541: The entire district. Following this victory, the pro-Pakistan chieftains of the western districts of Muzaffarabad , Poonch and Mirpur proclaimed a provisional Azad Jammu and Kashmir government in Rawalpindi on October 3, 1947. Ghulam Nabi Gilkar, under the assumed name "Mr. Anwar," issued a proclamation in the name of the provisional government in Muzaffarabad . However, this government quickly fizzled out with
3956-533: The exception of Pashto and English, those languages belong to the Indo-Aryan language family. The dialects of the Pahari-Pothwari language complex cover most of the territory of Azad Kashmir. Those are also spoken across the Line of Control in the neighbouring areas of Indian Jammu and Kashmir and are closely related both to Punjabi to the south and Hindko to the northwest. The language variety in
4042-764: The group planned an airline hijacking fashioned after the Dawson's Field hijackings by the Palestinian militants . Hashim Qureshi, along with his cousin Ashraf Qureshi, was ordered to execute one. A former Pakistani air force pilot Jamshed Manto trained him for the task. However, Qureshi was arrested by the Indian Border Security Force when he tried to reenter Indian-held Kashmir with arms and equipment. He negotiated his way out by claiming to help find other conspirators that were allegedly in
4128-407: The holding of a plebiscite with regard to Kashmir's future. However, no such plebiscite has ever been held on either side, since there was a precondition that required the withdrawal of the Pakistani army along with the non-state elements and the subsequent partial withdrawal of the Indian army from the parts of Kashmir under their respective control – a withdrawal that never took place. In 1949,
4214-490: The interim constitution does not give them a choice, the people of Azad Kashmir have not considered any option other than joining Pakistan. Except in a legal sense, Azad Kashmir has been fully integrated into Pakistan. Azad Kashmir is home to a vibrant civil society. One of the organizations active in the territory and inside Pakistan is YFK-International Kashmir Lobby Group , an NGO that seeks better India-Pakistan relations through conflict resolution in Kashmir. According to
4300-525: The international attention it was hoping to galvanise through the bombing campaign did not materialise. Hashim Qureshi , a Srinagar resident who went to Peshawar on family business in 1969, met Maqbool Bhat and got inducted into the NLF. He was given an ideological education and lessons in guerrilla tactics in Rawalpindi . In order to draw the world's attention to the Kashmiri independence movement,
4386-566: The liberation of the former princely state. Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Bhat also wanted to set up an armed wing for the Plebiscite Front, but the proposal did not get the majority support in the Plebiscite Front. Undeterred, they established an underground group called National Liberation Front (NLF), obtaining some support for it in August 1965. The group was fashioned after the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale . Major Amanullah,
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#17327840211684472-595: The lower area of the Himalayas , including Jamgarh Peak (4,734 m or 15,531 ft). However, Sarwali Peak (6326 m) in Neelum Valley is the highest peak in the state. The region receives rainfall in both the winter and the summer. Muzaffarabad and Pattan are among the wettest areas of Pakistan. Throughout most of the region, the average rainfall exceeds 1400 mm, with the highest average rainfall occurring near Muzaffarabad (around 1800 mm). During
4558-434: The maharaja broke out in Poonch , an area bordering the Rawalpindi division of West Punjab . The maharaja's administration is said to have started levying punitive taxes on the peasantry which provoked a local revolt and the administration resorted to brutal suppression. The area's population, swelled by recently demobilised soldiers following World War II , rebelled against the maharaja's forces and gained control of almost
4644-605: The main sources of income. There are mineral and marble resources in Azad Kashmir close to Mirpur and Muzaffarabad . There are also graphite deposits at Mohriwali. There are also reservoirs of low-grade coal, chalk , bauxite , and zircon . Local household industries produce carved wooden objects, textiles, and dhurrie carpets. There is also an arts and crafts industry that produces such cultural goods as namdas, shawls, pashmina, pherans, Papier-mâché , basketry copper, rugs, wood carving, silk and woolen clothing, patto, carpets, namda gubba, and silverware. Agricultural goods produced in
4730-443: The native residents of Azad Kashmir are not of Kashmiri ethnicity; rather, they could be called " Jammuites " due to their historical and cultural links with that region, which is coterminous with neighbouring Punjab and Hazara . Because their region was formerly a part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and is named after it, many Azad Kashmiris have adopted the "Kashmiri" identity, whereas in an ethnolinguistic context,
4816-598: The new system which emerged after the shift in power structure [changes in the top-level management, when family decided to run The Hindu itself] in Kasturi and Sons Ltd in October 2013. Former editor Siddhartha Varadarajan and Executive Editor MK Venu were ousted from their positions in October 2013. Praveen Swami has won several awards for his work. He received the Sanskriti Samman Award in 1999 for
4902-569: The newly launched Plebiscite Front in Muzaffarabad . Abdul Khaliq Ansari was its president, Amanullah Khan the general secretary and Maqbool Bhat the publicity secretary. Journalist Arif Jamal states that, the participants drove to an unguarded location of the Kashmir Line of Control near Suchetgarh , brought back soil from the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir , took an oath that they would work exclusively for
4988-659: The only solution to the issue is mutual negotiation between the two countries without involving a third party such as the United Nation. The 1974 Interim Constitution Act was passed by the 48-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir unicameral assembly. In April 1997, the Nawaz Sharif government refused to grant constitutional status to Azad Jammu and Kashmir stating that "'The grant of constitutional rights to these people will amount to unilateral annexation of these areas." The northern part of Azad Jammu and Kashmir encompasses
5074-538: The onslaught. The tribesmen captured the towns of Muzaffarabad and Baramulla , the latter of which is 32 kilometres (20 mi) northwest of the state capital Srinagar . On October 24, the Maharaja requested military assistance from India, which responded that it was unable to help him unless he acceded to India. Accordingly, on October 26, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh signed an Instrument of Accession , handing over control of defence, external affairs, and communications to
5160-417: The party workers assembled at the house of Sardar Ibrahim on July 19, 1947, reversed the decision, demanding that the Maharaja accede to Pakistan. Soon afterward, Sardar Ibrahim escaped to Pakistan and led the Poonch rebellion from there, with the assistance of Pakistan's prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan and other officials. Liaquat Ali Khan appointed a committee headed by Mian Iftikharuddin to draft
5246-410: The plane at Lahore and demanded the release of 36 NLF prisoners lodged in Indian jails. However, they succumbed to pressure from the airport authorities and ended up releasing all the passengers and the crew. Years later, Ashraf Qureshi admitted that they were naive and didn't realise that "the passengers were more important than the actual plane." Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto showed up at
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#17327840211685332-526: The power of the MKA, however Snedden referred to it as a "diminution." Danish Khan in The Friday Times characterizes this development as providing "an avenue for citizens to draw attention from political elites towards immediate socio-economic and developmental concerns such as access to basic infrastructure and public goods," further stating "while public sector investments in infrastructure and social sectors have shown relative improvements over
5418-545: The preliminary results of the 2017 Census , is 4.045 million. The website of the AJK government reports the literacy rate to be 74%, with the enrolment rate in primary school being 98% and 90% for boys and girls respectively. The population of Azad Kashmir is almost entirely Muslim. The people of this region culturally differ from the Kashmiris living in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir and are closer to
5504-506: The project report by the Asian Development Bank , the bank has set out development goals for Azad Kashmir in the areas of health, education, nutrition, and social development. The whole project is estimated to cost US$ 76 million. Germany , between 2006 and 2014, has also donated $ 38 million towards the AJK Health Infrastructure Programme. The state is administratively divided into three divisions which, in turn, are divided into ten districts . The population of Azad Kashmir, according to
5590-485: The region include mushrooms, honey, walnuts, apples, cherries, medicinal herbs and plants, resin, deodar, kail, chir, fir, maple, and ash timber. The migration to the UK was accelerated and by the completion of Mangla Dam in 1967 the process of ' chain migration ' became in full flow. Today, remittances from British Mirpuri community make a critical role in AJK's economy. In the mid-1950s various economic and social development processes were launched in Azad Kashmir. In
5676-426: The southern districts of Azad Kashmir is known by a variety of names – including Mirpuri , Pothwari and Pahari – and is closely related to the Pothwari proper spoken to the east in the Pothohar region of Punjab. The dialects of the central districts of Azad Kashmir are occasionally referred to in the literature as Chibhali or Punchi , but the speakers themselves usually call them Pahari , an ambiguous name that
5762-444: The state, many of whom were arrested. The militants' escape from an Indian prison was viewed with suspicion by Pakistan. Bhat and his colleagues were detained and brutally interrogated for several months. Long after their release, Bhat was still suspected of being a double agent. Pakistan extended little support to the other Indian youth that crossed over into Azad Kashmir for arms and training. Praveen Swami suggests that, as Pakistan
5848-453: The summer and cold and chilly in the winter. Snowfall also occurs there in December and January. The region receives rainfall in both the winter and the summer. Muzaffarabad and Pattan are among the wettest areas of the state, but they don't receive snow. Throughout most of the region, the average rainfall exceeds 1400 mm, with the highest average rainfall occurring near Muzaffarabad (around 1800 mm). During summer, monsoon floods of
5934-424: The summer season, monsoon floods of the rivers Jhelum and Leepa are common due to extreme rains and snow melting. The southern parts of Azad Kashmir, including the Bhimber, Mirpur, and Kotli districts, have extremely hot weather in the summer and moderate cold weather in the winter. They receive rain mostly in monsoon weather. In the central and northern parts of the state, the weather remains moderately hot in
6020-468: The term "Kashmiri" would ordinarily refer to natives of the Kashmir Valley region. The population of Azad Kashmir has strong historical, cultural and linguistic affinities with the neighbouring populations of upper Punjab and Potohar region of Pakistan, whereas the Sudhans have the oral tradition of the Pashtuns . The main communities living in this region are: Languages by approximate number of speakers The official language of Azad Kashmir
6106-519: The time of the Partition of India in 1947, the British abandoned their suzerainty over the princely states , which were left with the options of joining India or Pakistan or remaining independent. Hari Singh , the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, wanted his state to remain independent. Muslims in the western districts of the Jammu province (current day Azad Kashmir) and in the Frontier Districts province (current day Gilgit-Baltistan ) had wanted to join Pakistan . In Spring 1947, an uprising against
6192-513: The years, the overarching narrative in the political sphere, spanning across party lines, remains heavily focused on the Jammu & Kashmir conflict rather than indigenous socio-economic development." The Constitution provides Kashmir its own President , Prime-Minister , High Court , Supreme Court , Auditor General and Chief Election Commissioner as well. The 13th Amendment to the AJK Constitution, passed in Muzaffarabad empowered
6278-513: Was 76.60% in 2018. It remained at 79.80% in 2019. According to the 2020–2021 census, the literacy rate in Azad Kashmir was 91.34%. However, only 2.2% were graduates, compared to the average of 2.9% for Pakistan. Praveen Swami Praveen Swami (born 1969) is an Indian journalist and author specialising on international strategic and security issues. He is currently the Group Consulting Editor at Network18 Group . He
6364-419: Was also the main source of revenue for the governments whose primary purpose for centuries was to accumulate revenue. Agriculture is a major part of Azad Kashmir's economy. Low-lying areas that have high populations grow crops like barley , mangoes , millet , corn (maize), and wheat , and also raise cattle. In the elevated areas that are less populated and more spread out, forestry, corn, and livestock are
6450-507: Was compromised, possibly via Ghulam Muhammad Dar, who acted as a double agent. The group kidnapped a police inspector and, when he tried to escape, shot and killed him. The Indian army zeroed in on them, leading to an exchange of fire in the Kunial village near Handwara . A member of Bhat's group, Kala Khan, was killed in the action. Bhat and a colleague named Mir Ahmad were captured and tried for sabotage and murder, receiving death sentences from
6536-456: Was drawn up in the 1970s, the only political parties that are allowed to exist are those that pay allegiance to Pakistan: "No person or political party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir shall be permitted... activities prejudicial or detrimental to the State's accession to Pakistan." The pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front has never been allowed to contest elections in Azad Kashmir. While
6622-520: Was estimated to be 10 billion pounds, giving per capita an income of £5604. Historically the economy of Azad Kashmir has been agricultural which meant that land was the main source or mean of production. This means that all food for immediate and long-term consumption was produced from the land. The produce included various crops, fruits, vegetables, etc. The land was also the source of other livelihood necessities such as wood, fuel, grazing for animals which then turned into dairy products. Because of this land
6708-611: Was largely concentrated in areas of Rawalakot as well as the rest of Poonch Division . It ended in 1956. In 1970, Yahya Khan's military administration promulgated a 'rudimentary' constitution, 'The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government Act, 1970' which provided AJK a presidential system, an elected legislative assembly and 'considerable' autonomy. Snedden refers to it as having "delivered the most autonomy ever enjoyed by this region – or by any region in J&;K." The central government only controlling foreign affairs, defence and currency, while
6794-576: Was released after protests broke out in Gilgit. Thirteen of his colleagues were sentenced to 14 years in prison, but released after a year. According to Hashim Qureshi, 400 activists of the Plebiscite Front and NLF were arrested in Pakistan after the Ganga hijacking. Abdul Khaliq Ansari, who was arrested and tortured, testified in the High Court that the Ganga hijacking had emboldened the people to question
6880-479: Was sentenced to seven years in prison. Ironically, Ashraf Qureshi was released even though he was an equal participant in the hijacking. This is said to have been a deal made by Zulikar Bhutto, by now the President of Pakistan, who declared that he would convict one hijacker but release the other. Amanullah Khan was also imprisoned for 15 months in a Gilgit prison during 1970–72, accused of being an Indian agent. He
6966-580: Was subsequently lost in bureaucratic channels, leading to considerable delays in help getting to the neediest. Hundreds of people continued to live in tents long after the earthquake. A land-use plan for the city of Muzaffarabad was prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency . Tourist destinations in the area include the following: The literacy rate in Azad Kashmir was 62% in 2004, higher than in any other region of Pakistan. The literacy rate of Azad Kashmir
7052-407: Was successful in recruiting members from Azad Kashmir, and obtained backing from the bureaucracy of the state. The NLF recruited and trained a cadre of militants in the use of explosives and small arms. Crossing into Indian-controlled Kashmir on 10 June 1966, they trained local workers in sabotage activities in the forests of Kupwara and set up secret cells. However, in September 1966, Bhat's group
7138-474: Was that the people of Azad Kashmir had always wanted to be part of Pakistan. Consequently, having little to fear from a pro-Pakistan population devoid of options, Pakistan imposed its will through the Federal Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and failed to empower the people of Azad Kashmir, allowing genuine self-government for only a short period in the 1970s. According to the interim constitution that
7224-850: Was the Associate Editor of the Indian newspaper The Hindu from 1993, for which he reported on topics such as the conflict in Kashmir , the Left-wing Maoist insurgency in India, and Islamic groups. He reported on Kashmir, Punjab and security issues for much of the 1990s before becoming the Mumbai bureau chief in 1998. He was appointed as Resident Editor New Delhi, The Hindu in October 2011. Swami, along with Rural Affairs Editor P Sainath , resigned from The Hindu in mid-2014. Both journalists hinted they found it difficult to work under
7310-672: Was the Diplomatic Editor of The Daily Telegraph newspaper between September 2010 – October 2011, after which, he became the National Editor (Strategic and International Affairs) of The Indian Express newspaper from August 2014- January 2017. Swami is the author of two books on the India-Pakistan conflict in Kashmir. He was described by the BBC as "one of India's foremost experts of Islamist terrorism". Swami
7396-404: Was waging a covert war through its own network in Jammu and Kashmir, it did not want those official operations jeopardised by the amateur operators of the NLF. The NLF continued its activities, sponsoring bomb explosions in the Jammu province . It targeted public places, such as railway stations and bus stations, and military installations in and around the cities of Jammu and Poonch . However,
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