Poonch District, Pakistan
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Poonch District (Template:Langx) is one of the ten districts of the Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.<ref name=tertiary-kashmir>The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary sources (a) through (e), reflecting due weight in the coverage. Although "controlled" and "held" are also applied neutrally to the names of the disputants or to the regions administered by them, as evidenced in sources (h) through (i) below, "held" is also considered politicised usage, as is the term "occupied," (see (j) below).
(a) Template:Citation (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent ... has been the subject of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The northern and western portions are administered by Pakistan and comprise three areas: Azad Kashmir, Gilgit, and Baltistan, the last two being part of a territory called the Northern Areas. Administered by India are the southern and southeastern portions, which constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir but are slated to be split into two union territories.";
(b) Template:Citation (subscription required) Quote: "Aksai Chin, Chinese (Pinyin) Aksayqin, portion of the Kashmir region, at the northernmost extent of the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.";
(c) Template:Citation C. E Bosworth, University of Manchester Quote: "KASHMIR, kash'mer, the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent, administered partlv by India, partly by Pakistan, and partly by China. The region has been the subject of a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan since they became independent in 1947";
(d) Template:Citation Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
(e) Template:Citation Quote: "We move from a disputed international border to a dotted line on the map that represents a military border not recognized in international law. The line of control separates the Indian and Pakistani administered areas of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.";
(f) Template:Citation
(g) Template:Citation
(h) Template:Citation Quote: "J&K: Jammu and Kashmir. The former princely state that is the subject of the Kashmir dispute. Besides IJK (Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The larger and more populous part of the former princely state. It has a population of slightly over 10 million, and comprises three regions: Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.) and AJK ('Azad" (Free) Jammu and Kashmir. The more populous part of Pakistani-controlled J&K, with a population of approximately 2.5 million.), it includes the sparsely populated "Northern Areas" of Gilgit and Baltistan, remote mountainous regions which are directly administered, unlike AJK, by the Pakistani central authorities, and some high-altitude uninhabitable tracts under Chinese control."
(i) Template:Citation Quote: "Kashmir’s identity remains hotly disputed with a UN-supervised “Line of Control” still separating Pakistani-held Azad (“Free”) Kashmir from Indian-held Kashmir.";
(j) Template:Citation Quote:"Some politicised terms also are used to describe parts of J&K. These terms include the words 'occupied' and 'held'."</ref>
It falls in the Poonch Division and is bounded on the north by Bagh District, on the north-east by Haveli District, on the south-east by the Poonch District of the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, on the south by Sudhanoti and Kotli districts, and on the west by the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan.
The Poonch District is part of the greater Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The district headquarters is the city of Rawalakot. It is the third most populous district of Azad Kashmir.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Historically, the area now constituting Poonch District was part of the Sudhanoti region, which later became a tehsil of the former Poonch State.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The main language is Pahari, native to an estimated 95% of the population, but there are also speakers of Gujari,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while Urdu has the status of the official language.
History
Sovereign State
Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar. According to Rajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch resisted Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded Poonch 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).<ref name=official/>
Kashmir Sultanate(1475-1596)
Poonch came under the Kashmir Sultanate during late 15th century through the military campaigns of Malik Tazi Bhat, a general of the Sultanate. He led military campaigns that resulted in the conquest and administration of several regions, including Poonch, Jammu, Rajouri, Bhimber, Jhelum, Sialkot, and Gujrat, from 1475 to 1487. Following its incorporation, Poonch was administered as a vassal state under the Kashmir Sultanate. Local rulers retained a degree of autonomy but were required to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Sultan and provide tribute and military support when necessary. This arrangement persisted until the late 16th century, when the region came under Mughal influence. In 1596, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch, marking the end of its vassalage under Kashmir.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Mughal Era (1596 - 1752)
In 1596, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch Jagir. Earlier, during his second visit to Kashmir in 1592, Emperor Akbar, accompanied by Prince Salim (later Jahangir), had passed through the Haji Pir Pass, where Rathore's hospitality had greatly impressed them. As a result, the Mughals rewarded him with authority in the region. Siraj-Ud-Din and his descendants ruled the some parts of Poonch area up to 1792. The Rathore family and their descendants ruled substantial parts of Poonch until around 1792, administering their domains as separate jagirs under Mughal suzerainty. However, their authority did not extend over the entire territory and areas such as Sudhanoti and nearby highlands were governed by local Sudhan chieftains, who likewise maintained their own independent jagirs. Thus, the political structure of Poonch during this period was fragmented, with Rathore rulers and Sudhan chiefs each exercising autonomous control over their respective estates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Durrani Empire (1752–1819)
Under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Durrani Afghans conquered Kashmir, taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire. They thus obtained control of Poonch, and established their government in the region. They ruled the region until 1819, when the Sikh Empire routed them from the Kashmir Valley, and annexed parts of Poonch (eastern half). They subsequently lost rule in any remaining territories in Kashmir.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Tribal Coalitions (1819–1832)
In the western parts of Poonch (modern day Poonch Division, AJK) the local tribes had entrenched themselves in the hills. The Muslim tribes of the region formed a defensive coalition against the Sikhs, at the head of which was the Sudhan tribe.<ref name="SarafPage77Hills">Template:Cite book</ref>
After Gulab Singh received the chakla of Jammu as a jagir (autonomous territory), he made renewed attempts at conquering Poonch, but the armies he raised were not large enough to defeat the resistance, and consequently he would face defeats before being forced to withdraw.<ref name="SarafPage85">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1832, Gulab Singh convinced Ranjit Singh to attack the coalition. Ranjit marched with an army of 60,000 troops alongside an assortment of hill cannons. The coalition made the decision to surrender, accepting the suzerainty of the Sikhs over Poonch.<ref name="SarafPage85Hostage">Template:Cite book</ref>
Sikh Empire (1819–1846)
The Sikhs had conquered the eastern part of Poonch in 1819, but did not exert full control over it until the tribal coalition was defeated in 1832.<ref name="SarafPage77Hills">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1822, Ranjit Singh appointed Gulab Singh as the Raja of Jammu and, in 1827, appointed Dhyan Singh as the Raja of Bhimber, Chibbal and PoonchTemplate:Sfn (covering the Mirpur and Poonch districts as of 1947<ref> A peep into Bhimber, Daily Excelsior, 6 November 2016. </ref>). Dhyan Singh spent most of his time in Lahore, subsequently becoming the diwan (prime minister) in the Sikh court. Gulab Singh is said to have managed his jagirs on his behalf.
In 1837, the hill tribes of Poonch, led by the Sudhans<ref name="Archive.org">Carmichael Smyth, G. (1847). "The Soodhun Revolt." In The History of the Reigning Family of Lahore (pp. 205–212). Archive.org. English.</ref> launched a rebellion. They captured Sikh garrisons and defeated the son of Gulab Singh, Ottam Singh, whom had been sent with a force of five thousand troops to crush the rebellion. Though the rebels captured the majority of Poonch, after Gulab Singh returned from his campaign against the Yusufzai, he was able to incite treachery within the rebellion. Gulab Singh then attacked with an army of twenty-thousand which he had raised in Kahuta, and after fierce fighting and aid of Sikh reinforcements, he captured key forts of the rebels and their leaders, flaying alive Sudhan sardars Malli Khan and Sabz Ali Khan, executions of other commanders and notables from the rebellious tribes and killed the main leader of the rebellion, Shams Khan. Gulab Singh's forces caused devastation and massacres within captured rebel territory, due to which he faced controversy, particularly by the British, and obtained the reputation of a tyrant.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Kashmiri Fight For Freedom">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Archive.org"/>
After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the Sikh court fell into anarchy and palace intrigues took over. Dhyan Singh, Suchet Singh as well as Dhyan Singh's son Hira Singh were murdered in these struggles.Template:Sfn Poonch was confiscated by the Sikh Durbar on the grounds that the Rajas had rebelled against the state and handed it over to Faiz Talib Khan of Rajouri.Template:Sfn
Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (1846–1947)
After the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) and the subsequent Treaties of Lahore and Amritsar, the entire territory between the Beas and the Indus rivers was transferred to Gulab Singh, including Poonch. He was recognised an independent ruler, a maharaja, of the newly created state of Jammu and Kashmir.Template:Sfn Gulab Singh reinstated the jagir of Poonch to Jawahir Singh, the eldest remaining son of Dhyan Singh. Thus, the Dogra dynasty became the rulers of the state.Template:Sfn
In the 1947 Poonch Revolt, the rebels expelled Dogras from Poonch (modern day Poonch Division, AJK), and established Azad Kashmir.<ref>Josef Korbel, Danger in Kashmir, New York:United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan Report, 1954, pp.49–54</ref><ref name="india-seminar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfnp<ref name=JasbirSingh> Template:Cite book </ref>
Separation of Poonch
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(The Poonch Divion was created from the Azad Kashmiri-administered portion of the pre-1947 Poonch District.)
After independence in 1947, there was a rebellion in the western part of the Poonch District. The rebels led by Sardar Ibrahim Khan, sought support from the Dominion of Pakistan, which provided arms and then launched an invasion of its own, using Pashtun tribals. In response, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir joined India, and the conflict turned into an Indo-Pakistani war. When a ceasefire was effected, the Poonch District was divided into two separate districts. The former headquarters, the city of Poonch, came under Indian occupation, and a new headquarters in the western district was eventually established at Rawalakot.
1949 to Present
The Pakistan-administered portion of the Poonch district was reorganised as the Poonch Division. Of the four tehsils of the original Poonch District, viz., Bagh, Sudhnoti, Haveli, and Mendhar, the Poonch Division included the first two and a portion of the third. Those three tehsils were eventually made separate districts, and a new Poonch District was created in the center of the Poonch Division by incorporating portions of the Bagh and Sudhnoti tehsils.
Poonch district was the main area of violent anti government revolt (led by the Sudhan tribe) during the 1955 Poonch uprising, which lasted from early 1955 to late 1956.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
Administrative divisions
The district is administratively subdivided into four tehsils:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Towns
Education
According to the Pakistan District Education Ranking 2017, a report released by Alif Ailaan, the Poonch District is ranked at number 8 nationally, with an education score of 73.52. Over the past five years, the Poonch District has shown the most improvement in the establishment of middle schools. The learning score for the Poonch District is 84.15.<ref name="alifailaan"/> The school infrastructure score for the Poonch District is 14.88, ranking the district at number 151, which places it in the bottom five districts relating to infrastructure in Pakistan and its two dependent territories. Schools in the Poonch District also have severe problems with regard to electricity, drinking water, and boundary walls, as reflected in their scores of 2.67, 12.1, and 6.23, respectively.<ref name="alifailaan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The state of some school buildings also presents a major safety risk for students.
Transport
The Poonch-Rawalakot Bus, which crosses the LOC, has helped to re-establish ties across the border.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
- History of Poonch District
- Poonch district, India
- 1947 Poonch Rebellion
- Poonch Medical College in Rawalakot
References
Bibliography
External links
Template:Poonch Division Template:Administrative units of Azad Kashmir