Azad Kashmir

Azad Kashmir, area of the Pakistani-administered sector of the Kashmir region, in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Azad (“Free”) Kashmir, established in 1947 after the partition of India, is neither a province nor an agency of Pakistan but has a government of its own that is regarded by Pakistan as “independent,” even though it is protected by and economically and administratively linked to Pakistan. It has an area of approximately 650 square miles (1,680 square km) and consists of an arc of territory bordering the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east, the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the south and southwest and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, and the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistani-administered Kashmir to the north.

Northern Azad Kashmir comprises foothills of the Himalayas rising to Jamgarh Peak (15,531 feet [4,734 metres]); south of this are the northwestern reaches of the Pir Panjal Range, which has an average crest line of 12,500 feet (3,800 metres). The region is in the subduction zone at the most northerly extension of the Indian-Australian tectonic plate and is prone to powerful seismic activity. In 2005 a strong earthquake devastated the administrative centre of Muzaffarabad and surrounding regions.

The Jhelum River and its upper tributaries, including the Punch River, have cut deeply incised and terraced valleys through these mountain ranges; the Jhelum also constitutes most of the western boundary of Azad Kashmir. The southern part of the territory consists of a narrow zone of plains country in the Punch region that is characterized by interlocking sandy alluvial fans. Thorn scrub and coarse grass are the dominant forms of vegetation in the south; this scrubland gives way to pine forests at higher elevations in the north.

Wheat, barley, corn (maize), millet, and livestock are raised in the lower valleys and support relatively high population densities. In the more sparsely settled upper valleys, corn, cattle, and forestry are the economic mainstays. There are deposits of marble near Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, graphite at Mohriwali, and other reserves of bauxite, silica, chalk, zircon, and low-grade coal. Household industries produce carved wooden objects, textiles, and dhurrie carpets.

The administration of Azad Kashmir is overseen by Pakistan’s Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and headquartered at Muzaffarabad, which is linked by road with Abbottabad to the southwest. Mirpur is the major town in the southern part of the territory.