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Azad Kashmir (formally the Islamic Republic of Azad Jammu and Kashmir) is the largest Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Along with the Northern Areas, it constitutes the region that India calls "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir." The name Azad Kashmir means "Free Kashmir" in Urdu. It covers an area of some 84,000 km² (33,000 miles²), with its capital at Muzaffarabad, and it has an estimated population of about 2 million people. The region is extremely mountainous and includes a significant part of the Himalayas, including Nanga Parbat, the world's seventh highest mountain.
Following the partition of British-ruled India in 1947, Pakistan divided the area of Kashmir under its control into three parts:
- The Islamic Republic of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,
- The Northern Areas, which are administered as a de facto 'Union Territory' and as an integral part of Pakistan, and
- A small part was ceded to China's Aksai Chin.
The Islamic Republic of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is notionally autonomous, with its own President, Prime Minister, legislature and so on. However, in practice it is administered directly by the Government of Pakistan through the office of the Secretary for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Demography
The Islamic Republic of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is predominantly populated by the Hindko people, who speak the Hindko language, and people who speak the Pothohari or Potwari language. Pothohari resembles Panjabi but has very distinct separate features. Potwari is spoken in the UK by the Mirpuri community. (Mirpuri is a local dialect of Potwari spoken in and around Mirpur and Kotli district.)
The nomadic, herder ethnic group of the Gurjars form the largest minority. The Gurjars largely inhabit the upper hills and slopes.
Azad Kashmir is predominantly Muslim. Both the Hindko and the Gurjars are Muslims.
de:Azad Kaschmir
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