Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad
مُظفّرآباد
City
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Coordinates: 34°21′30″N 73°28′20″E / 34.35833°N 73.47222°E / 34.35833; 73.47222Coordinates: 34°21′30″N 73°28′20″E / 34.35833°N 73.47222°E / 34.35833; 73.47222
Country  Pakistan
Territory  Azad Kashmir
Area
 • Total 1,642 km2 (634 sq mi)
Elevation 737 m (2,418 ft)
 • Density 418/km2 (1,080/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+05:00)
Calling code 05822
Website Muzaffarabad Local Government
Muzaffarabad
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
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31
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [1][2]

Muzaffarabad (Urdu: مُظفَّرآباد‎; Pahari, Potwari: مُظفٌر آباد) is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani-administered territory of pakistan occupied kashmir

, and is the gateway of Neelum Valley.

The city is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the west, by the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the east, and the Neelum District of Azad Kashmir in the north.

History

The original name of Muzaffarabad was Udabhanda.[3]

Hieun tsang, the celebrated Buddhist pilgrim who is said to have visited the valley in 633 A.D mentions Pan-nu-tso, i.e., modern day Punch, Ho-lo-she-pu-to i.e. modern day Rajauri. He entered the valley via Baramula gorge.[4]

Udabhanda was the capital of the Shahi dynasty. The Shahi (Devanagari शाही), also called Shahiya,[5][6] dynasties ruled portions of the Kabul Valley (in eastern Afghanistan) and the old province of Gandhara (northern Pakistan and Kashmir) from the decline of the Kushan Empire in third century to the early ninth century.[6] The kingdom was known as Kabul-shahan or Ratbel-shahan (565–670 CE) when they had their capitals in Kapisa and Kabul, and later Udabhandapura (also known as Hund)[7] for its new capital. The term Shahi is the title of the rulers, likely related to the Kushan form Shao[6] or Persian form Shah and refers to a series of 60 rulers probably descended from the Kushans or Turks (Turshkas).[6]

2005 Earthquake

Muzaffarabad has largely been rebuilt since the 2005 earthquake.

The city was near the epicenter of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.6. The earthquake destroyed 50% of the buildings in the city (including most of the official buildings) and is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people in the Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir. As of 8 October 2005 the Pakistani government's official death toll was 87,350. Some estimates put the death toll over 100,000.[8]

Administrative divisions

Map of Muzaffarabad district

The district of Muzaffarabad is administratively subdivided into 02 tehsils, which are sub-divided into 25 Union Councils[9]

Transport

The closest railway stations are Murree in Pakistan and Baramulla in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.[10] Jammu and Kashmir ex-chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he intended to extend the Jammu–Baramulla line to Muzaffarabad, to facilitate movement of people and goods much easier across the LoC Line of Control.[11]

Education

According to the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2016, Muzaffarabad is ranked 37 in national rankings and 10th in provincial rankings with 73.09, 68.53, 54.35, 79.74 and 89.74 in Education Score, Enrollment Score, Learning Score, Retention Score and Gender Parity Score respectively.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Muzaffarabad at Sunmap. Sunmap.eu. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  2. ↑ World Weather Information Service. Worldweather.wmo.int (2006-10-05). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  3. ↑ "The original name of Muzaffarabad was Udabhanda.". cleanpakistan.org.
  4. ↑ Poonam, Chaudhary (2005) A study of cultural routes of Jammu Region. In: 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Monuments and sites in their setting – conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes’, 17–21 Oct 2005, Xi'an, China.
  5. ↑ Sehrai, Fidaullah (1979). Hund: The Forgotten City of Gandhara, p. 1. Peshawar Museum Publications New Series, Peshawar.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Shahi Family". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Oct 2006.
  7. ↑ Sehrai, Fidaullah (1979). Hund: The Forgotten City of Gandhara, p. 2. Peshawar Museum Publications New Series, Peshawar.
  8. ↑ Stuart, Julia. (2006-01-01) IoS Appeal: Last chance to donate to quake victims. News.independent.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  9. ↑ Information about SPs District Muzaffarabad
  10. ↑ Google Maps. Maps.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  11. ↑ Azad's Vision: A train to Muzaffarabad. News.oneindia.in (2007-07-17). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  12. ↑
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