Azad Kashmir is an administrative territory of the Pakistani-administered Kashmir. It has 10 first-order administrative divisions called "districts," and each district is divided into tehsils. Geographically, the northern districts of Azad Kashmir encompass the lower part of the Himalayas. The southern districts of Azad Kashmir, which consist of the Bhimber, Kotli, and Mirpur districts have extremely hot weather in the summer and moderately cold weather in the winter. Azad Kashmir receives rainfall in both the winter and summer seasons, with Muzaffarabad being among the wettest areas of Azad Kashmir. The culture in the northern districts is similar to that of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, where Balti, Gujari and other languages are spoken. In the central districts like Poonch, etc., the Hindko and Gujari languages are spoken, and in the southern districts, the culture of the people is similar to that of the Potoharis.
List of districts
DistrictHeadquarterArea (km2)Population (2017)Density (people/km2)Literacy Rate (2023)MapMuzaffarabadMuzaffarabad1,642650,370396Hattian BalaHattian Bala854230,529270Neelam ValleyAthmuqam3,621191,25153MirpurMirpur1,010456,200452BhimberBhimber1,516420,624277KotliKotli1,862774,194416PoonchRawalakot855500,571585BaghBagh770371,919483HaveliForward Kahuta598152,124254SudhanotiPallandari569297,584523Total13,2974,045,367
History In 1985 Azad Kashmir consisted of 4 districts, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Mirpur and KotliAzad Kashmir at a glance 1985, Hattian was a subdivision of Muzaffarabad, Bhimber was a subdivision of Mirpur, Bagh and Haveli were subdivisions of Poonch.Azad Kashmir at a glance 1986 In 1987 Bagh became a separate district from Poonch with Haveli as a subdivion - the other districts remained unchanged.Azad Kashmir at a glance 1987
In 1996, Azad Kashmir consisted of 7 districts, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Poonch, Pallandri, Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber.Azad Kashmir at a glance 1996 In 2006, Azad Kashmir consisted of 8 districts, Muzaffarabad, Neelum, Mirpur, Bhimber, Kotli, Poonch, Bagh and Sudhnuti (formerly Pallandri).Azad Kashmir at a glance 2006 The current set-up of 10 districts was established in 2009.Azad Kashmir at a glance 2009
See also List of tehsils of Azad Kashmir List of districts in Gilgit-Baltistan List of districts of Jammu and Kashmir List of districts of Ladakh
References