Mirpur District

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Mirpur
Area	1010 km²
Population ()  • Density	371,000  • /km²
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Established  • District Nazim  • District Naib Nazim  • District Council  • Number of Tehsils	•   •   •  seats   •
Main language(s)	Pahari, Pothowari
Website	[1]

Mirpur District is a district in Pakistan's Azad Kashmir Territory. The district is named after the main city - Mirpur. The District of Mirpur comprises mostly plain and some hilly areas. Its hot and dry climate and other geographical conditions closely resemble those of Jhelum and Gujrat, the adjoining Districts of Pakistan.

Contents 1 Administration 2 Emigration 3 Tehsils of Mirpur 4 Notable places 5 Castes in Mirpur 6 Notable People of Old Mirpur 7 Notable People of New Mirpur

[edit] Administration

Mirpur District is located in the south west of the Kashmir region - it is part of Azad Kashmir and is administered by Pakistan from Islamabad. Azad Kashmir has been considered politically, constitutionally and geographically as part of a separate state, i.e. Jammu & Kashmir. This state is a disputed territory and has been controlled by both Pakistan and India, since their independence, 14 / 15th August 1947, respectively. Azad Kashmir is under the indirect control of Pakistan, however its defence, foreign policy and currency are under the direct control of Pakistan.

Consequently, fiscal issues, i.e. budget and tax affairs have been dealt with by the 'Azad Jammu & Kashmir Council', instead of the Central Board of Revenue. Azad Jammu & Kashmir Council is a supreme body, consisting of 11 members - 6 of these members are from the Government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and 5 members are from the Government of Pakistan.

Also its chairman / chief executive is always the President of Pakistan. Hence, the rest of members are Azad Kashmir's own Prime Minister and President and some ministers, (also note that Azad Kashmir has its own president, prime minister and legislative assembly also supreme-court and high-court & other departments). The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) is responsible for tax affairs of rest of all Pakistani territory, i.e. all four provinces and the capital, Islamabad.

[edit] Emigration

People from this region of Azad Kashmir have historically looked abroad for employment. Many a ship employed Mirpuri boiler men in the age of steam. During the two world wars many Mirpuris enlisted in the merchant navy and armed services. During the last four decades a large number of people from this district have gone abroad, especially to United Kingdom for earning their livelihood. The Mangla Dam project in the early sixties resulted in the displacement of a large number of people, who under an agreement between the Pakistan government and the British government, were allowed to settle in the UK, where they are usually known as Mirpuri and play a role in the British society, economy, and politics.

As such, they are today the major foreign exchange earning resource for Pakistan. Around 50,000 people were moved from this district in the mid-sixties to make way for the construction of Mangla Dam, but corrupt handling of funds meant long drawn out delays in completing the project. Most of these people settled in new Mirpur whilst some moved elsewhere in Pakistan or to the UK.

[edit] Tehsils of Mirpur

Mirpur is divided into the following tehsils

• Dudial
• Chakswari
• Mirpur

[edit] Notable places

Notable places within the district are

• Baghsar - a famous lake.
• Bandala valley
• Khari Sharif - located 8km from Mirpur, it is famous for its Sufi shrine.
• Mangla is a town 16km from Mirpur, it is situated at the mouth of the Mangla Dam for which it is famous.
• Rajoa
• The Samahni valley.

[edit] Castes in Mirpur

The caste system in Mipur is very strong despite the most of people living in UK. The famous castes in Mirpur are:

• Jatt- They represent majority population of Mirpur. They mostly live in Dadyal, Main city, Khari Sharif etc. Jatts are playing acitive role in Politics of Mirpur.
• Rajputs- They are second in number but play active role in politics and bureaucracy. They mostly live in Main city and Khari Sharif region. The famous sub-clans of rajputs are Gakhar, Chibs, Punwar Solans, Minhas, Jarrals etc.
• Gujjars- Last of the three main castes, Though Gujjars in Mirpur are in Minority compared to Jatt and Rajputs they are very much united and active economically and politically. Make up the bulk of the Mirpuri's who live in the UK.
• Sadat- They are very active people. Though they are not big in numbers but occupy important positions in all sectors.
• Mughals- Mughals are not involved in active politics but they are very active in education sector.
• Arain- They are less in numbers but they mostly rich people and have tendency towards business.

[edit] Notable People of Old Mirpur

• Raja Allah Dad Khan of Lehri (Jagirdar)
• Raja Sajawal Khan of Mehmunpur (Zaildar and Assessor)
• Subah Sadiq Shah of Nawan Garan (Activist of Quran Movement)
• Raja Gul Nawaz Khan of Lehri (Zaildar)
• General Raja Akbar Khan of Kalri(panjeri)
• Ch. Noor Hussain of Thothal (now in Chechian) Politician
• Raja Bashir Ahmed Khan of Mehmunpur (Zaildar)
• Ch. Khadim Hussain of Chechian (MLA)
• Raja Fazal Dad Khan of Panjeri(winner of Miltary cross)

[edit] Notable People of New Mirpur

• Barrister Sultan Mahmood Ch.(Ex.Prime Minister Of AJK)

mailk Majid ex cj hc ak and president of ll

• Barrister Qurban Ali (Supreme Head Of Peoples National Party)
• Lord Nazir Ahmed (Member of House of Lords)
• Raja Zafar Maroof (Administrator District Council)
• Raja Shabbir Ahmed Khan (Ex Public Prosecutor)
• Khalid Mahmood (Member of Parliament B'ham U.K)
• Mohammed Ajeeb (Ex.Lord Mayor Bradford U.K)
• Ch Abdul Majid President (PPP Azad Kashmir)
• Cllr Liaquat Ali (Mayor of Waltham Forest)
• Ch Aurangzeb (Ex.Lord Mayor Bradford U.K)
• Kh Khalid Mahmood (Ex.Lord Mayor B'ham UK)
• Mohammed Iqbal (Lord Mayor of Leeds)
• Ch Muhammed Saeed (CEO) Azad Group Of Companies Ltd
• Ch Mohammed Yusuf MLA (Minister for Mangla Dam)
• Cllr Raja Zarait (Mayor of Slough Town)
• Cllr Ch FA Matloob - British born (Chairman of Slough Labour Party & Slough's youngest councillor)
• Amjad Iqbal (Proffesional footballer, Farsley Celtic, Bradford, UK, 2 Caps Pakistan National Team)

v • d • e Administrative Divisions of Azad Kashmir Capital Muzaffarabad Districts Bagh | Bhimber | Kotli | Mirpur | Muzaffarabad | Neelum | Poonch | Sudhnati