Azad Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (/ˌɑːzædkæʃˈmɪər/ ;^[6] Urdu: آزاد جموں و کشمیر, transl. 'Free Jammu and Kashmir' listen(help·info)),^[7] abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity^[8] and constituting the western portion of the larger  Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.^[9] The territory shares a border to the north with Gilgit-Baltistan, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations and other international organizations as Pakistani-administered Kashmir.^{[note 1]} 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 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 km² (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.

The territory has 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 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 the Eurasian plate.^[15] 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 the British Mirpuri community. Nearly 87% of Azad Kashmiri households own farm property,^[16] and the region has the highest rate of school enrollment in Pakistan and a literacy rate of approximately 74%.^[17][4]

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.^[18] It is believed to have been a response to the National Conference's Naya Kashmir (New Kashmir) programme.^[19] Sources state that it was no more than a compilation of various resolutions passed by the party.^[20] 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),^[18] and that the Muslim Conference was the sole representative organisation of the Muslims of Kashmir.^[19] However, the following year, the party passed an "Azad Kashmir resolution" demanding that the maharaja institute a constituent assembly elected on an extended franchise.^[21] 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.^[22] The following year, the party workers assembled at the house of Sardar Ibrahim on 19 July 1947 reversed the decision, demanding that the maharaja accede to Pakistan.^[23][24]