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 Mirpur
District is located
at the extreme South
of the State and is
linked with Pakistan
and the districts of
Azad Kashmir through
several routes.
District Mirpur
comprises partly
plain and partly
hilly areas. Its hot
and dry climate and
other geographical
conditions closely
resemble to those of
Jhelum and Gujrat,
the adjoining
districts of
Pakistan.
The people of this
area are basically
agriculturalist
belonging to Jatt
and Rajput castes,
with strong cultural
links to the Pothwar
region of Pakistan.
The Mirpur area was
traditionally a
recruiting ground
for the British
Indian army. The
people of this
region are
considered to be
part of the 'martial
tribes' as
designated by the
British. Mirpuri
soldiers show there
bravery in both
world wars.
People from this
region of Jammu and
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 a
an agreement between
the Pakistan
government and the
British government,
were allowed to
settle in the UK.
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.
As it adjoins the
industrial cities of
Pakistan, the
Government of Azad
Jammu & Kashmir has
successfully
endeavored to
develop it as an
industrial place and
promote private
investment for
establishing
Textile, vegetable
fat ('ghee'),
garments, scooters,
cosmetics and many
other industries.
Islam Garh
Islam Garh(formerly
Akhal Garh) is a
post office town in
Distric Mirpur. Many
people from the
Islam Garh area
settled in the UK,
enticed by Enoch
Powell after WWII
with his cry of
"Come to England, we
love you, come fill
our empty factories"
(the same
hypocritical
politician who later
made the famous
' Blood in the
streets' speech when
unemployment was
high in the 1970s).
Although locals
consider their
literacy rate to be
good, it's probably
true to say that, as
in most of the
former Islamic
lands, the people of
rural areas of
Pakistan have
forgotten how
greatly Islam
encourages learning
for all. What little
education is
available is mainly
for boys.
1 km distant, A
village Mohra
Malkan(old name was
Mohra Bedrahn) is
consists of 50
Houses. All people
are settled here are
AWAN by caste
(despite the Muslim
label, the previous
contributor felt the
need to point out
the (presumably
high) caste status
of this village: the
caste idea still
runs deep in the the
attitudes of these
peasants - one of
the derogatory
expressions to
insult someone is to
call him a 'Masalli',
one of the lower
castes; although in
Islam, such
attitudes are
considered "Jahil"
or "Ignorant").
Most of Population
of this village are
abroad in the UK.
Literacy Rate of
this people are 90%.
Morah Malkan comes
in Union Council
Andrah Kalan. This
village have
produced 14
Teachers(Male) and 3
Teachers(Female)
Only one Lecturer of
Statistics as well.
This Village has a
Shootting Vally ball
Club. This club has
14 members players.
This village
presents a beautiful
view of Combine life
of villages and
cities. The morning
view of this village
from west side is so
beautiful and
atractive.
There is another
village nearby
called Chak Haryam.
Our family migrated
from it to Yorkshire
in the UK in the
late 60s. I grew up
in Yorkshire but as
a teen I had to
revisit Chak Haryam
in the early 80s.
The attitudes of the
people I saw there
led me to always
pronounce the name
as Chak Harami. This
village is great
Mangla
Mangla is a small
beautiful modern
town. It is situated
at a distance of 110
kilometers from
Islamabad and is 15
kilometers short of
Mirpur City. The
construction of
Mangla reservoir
having perimeter of
100 kilometers and
presence of Mangla
and Ramkot Forts of
Mughal period have
turned this place
into an attractive
tourist spot. Mangla
has special
attraction for the
tourists coming on
short visits because
of its proximity to
Jhelum, Lahore and
Rawalpindi /
Islamabad.
Mirpur
Mirpur, the district
headquarter is
situated at an
elevation of 459
meters A.S.L. It is
linked with the main
Peshawar- Karachi
Grand Trunk Road at
Dina, a small town
about 15 kilometers
short of Jhelum
city.
The construction of
Mangla Dam converted
the old Mirpur town
into a big
artificial lake and
effected a
population of about
50,000. But it paved
the way for existing
new Mirpur town
situated on the bank
of Mangla Lake. The
city is well planned
and buildings are
mostly of modern
design. Mirpur has
developed into an
industrial city very
rapidly. All the
basic amenities of
life are available
in Mirpur. Colleges,
hospitals, banks,
shopping centers,
hotels, telephone &
telegraph units,
Forest , PWD,
Industries and
Tourist rest houses
exist in the city.
Bus and wagon
transport services
are also available.
Ramkot Fort
Picturesquely
located on the
summit of a hill,
Ramkot Fort is built
over the site of an
old Hindu Shiva
temple. 3 sides of
this hill top are
surrounded by River
Jhelum (ancient
Vitasta). During
excavations relics
of the 5th - 9th
century AD have been
discovered near one
of the temples. In
the 16th - 17th
century AD the
Muslim rulers of
Kashmir in safe
guarding their
boundaries built
numerous forts.
Ramkot, sitting atop
at the confluance of
the river Jhelum &
Poonch is one of
them. The Sikh
Maharaja of Kashmir
further fortified
Ramkot.
Ramkot Fort is
located on the
opposite side of the
Mirpur Town and one
has to cross Mangla
Lake on boat to
reach there. A 10
minutes travel by
road from Mirpur
leads to Sukhian and
nearby Army Water
Sports Club from
where boats are
available for access
to Ramkot Fort. It
takes 45 minutes to
reach there.
Ramkot Fort can also
be visited from
Mirpur via
Dudyial-Baily
Kathaar route (77
Km) but from Baily
Kathaar onward there
is no regular road
so it is better to
travel from Sukhian
by boat.
Khari Sharif
Located 8Km from
Mirpur is Khari
Sharif. Known for
housing the Shrine
of the Sufi Saint
known as Baba Pir-e-Shah
Ghazi (Damrian Wali
Sarkar). The place
acts as a great seat
of learning for
students of Islam.
Darvishs (disciples)
of the Saint can be
seen today wandering
in AJK and Pakistan.
Also at Khari Sharif
is the Shrine of the
late Mian Mohammed
Baksh who wrote the
famous tale
Saif-ul-Muluk. This
tells of a Prince
who fell in love
with a fairy called
Badi Jamal who he
saw in a dream. The
story chronicals his
travels in search of
the fairy and the
spiritual lessons he
learns on the way.
Jatan has become the
main commercial
centre for all Khari
Sharif and half of
District Bhimber. It
is  located at the
borders of both
Districts Mirpur and
Bhimber. The area
has a population of
150.000. 60% of the
population lives
below poverty line
(earning less than a
£ a day.
KIRF a UK based
charity,working in
azad kashmir since
1992. In 2002 KIRF
conducted a study of
medical needs of
this area and found
that there were no
medical facilities
available. Mother
and child mortality
rate was very high
(115 children and 85
mothers per 10,000).
In March 2003 kirf
started its most
ambitous project of
building a 100 bed
generel hospital at
Jatlan. First phase
of the construction
work has been
completed and is
open to the public.
Bhimber
Bhimber is a
sub-division (Thesil)
of the district,
situated 50Km from
Mirpur. The area is
very rich in
archaeological
remains. Bhimber
falls on the route
that was followed by
the Moghul rulers of
India for their
frequent visits to
the Kashmir Valley.
Jandi Chontra
Jandi Chontra is a
scenic spot located
17Km from Bhimber
and 67Km from Mirpur.
The area is known
for its panaromic
views. The Shrine of
the Sufi Saint Baba
Shadi Shaheed is
also located here.
Baghsar
Baghsar is situated
at 975m above
sea-level in the
Samahni valley. The
Sar, local name for
a lake, is nearly
half kilometre long
sheet of clear water
that soothes the
senses of the
visitor. On top of a
hill is the famous
Moghul Fort
over-looking the
lake that adds
grandeur to the
area. This four
storey massive
structure of granite
is a feat of Mughal
engineering that has
stood the ravages of
time. It has also
played important
roles in history
during the times of
Ahmed Shah Abdali,
Ranjit Singh and
Gulab Singh. It is
said that the Mughal
Emperor Janghir, on
his way back from
the Kashmir Valley,
fell ill and
ultimately died in
this fort.
Dadyal
Dadyal is a hilly
tehsil of Mirpur
district adjoining
Rawalpindi. It has
pleasant scenery and
climate. The main
town of Dadyal is
modern and a
shoppers paradise. |
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