Mirpur Azad Kashmir Pakistan

Mirpur Azad Kashmir is the largest and beautiful city in Azad Kashmir. There are many other cites in the world with the name Mirpur (in India, Bangladesh and in Pakistan), but the Mirpur city in Azad Kashmir is the most famous all over the world. Mirpur is partly mountainous area and partly plain area, it has hot and dry climate, geographical conditions closely resemble with the northern Pakistani Punjabi cities of Jhelum, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Mirpur is located near to the Pakistani industrial cities of Rawalpinid, Faislaabad, Gugranwala, Gujrat, Lahore and Sialkot etc. Mirpur has also successfully developed industries for example Textile, vegetable fat (‘ghee’), garments, scooters, cosmetics and many other industries.

Old Mirpur

Mirpur city is the headquarters of Mirpur District, which comprises on two sub-divisions, Mirpur and Dadyal. Mirpur city was newly developed in late sixties on the banks of Mangla lake. In fact the remains of the old city (old Mirpur) are underneath the waters of the Mangla Lake, during the winter months when the water recedes minarets of the old Mirpur city mosques, remnants of a Sikh gurdwara and a Hindu temple become visible from a distance.

Mirpur was well planned and the buildings are mostly of modern design, in addition there is significant inward investment from expatriates now living in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, & the Middle East. The city has a number of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and other urban facilities.

 The city of Mirpur has several cultural events including Saif Ul Mulook Festival, Rathoa Mehla, Pahari Mushahira and many more. The Saif Ul Mulook festival comes every year in April, mostly in the center of the city. This festival has much importantance as Mirpuris celebrates the anniversary of Baba Pir-e-Shah Ghazi Qalander where as Rothoa Mela comes every year in summer in the Rothoa town near the Dam Front. In this festival they celebrate cultural value of peace and tolerance and Pahari Mushahira is a fictional occasion in which poets from all over Azad Kashmir comes and takespart and present their poems to the audience. It is celebrated regularly in the city of Mirpur as part of the operation of Alami Pahari Adabi Sangat for the continuation and analysis of the Pahari language and the traditions of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mirpur is 200 KM (4 Hours Drive) far from Lahore |
150 KM far from Islamabad (1 and Half Hour Drive) |
50 KM far form Jhelum (30 Minute Drive)
  
History

Bawli, Old Mirpur

The area that is now Mirpur has always been a crossroad for major invasions of the subcontinent and has formed part of various empires over time including Achaemenid empire of Persia, an outlying region of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Kingdom of Gandhara, the Mauryan empire, the Kushan empire, the Sultanate of Ghazni, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal empire amongst others.
The city of Mirpur itself was founded in around 1642 AD or 1052 AH by the Ghakhar chief Miran Shah Ghazi. The Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series Kashmir and Jammu (1909) provides this information about Mirpur history as "it is said to have been founded by Miran Shah Ghazi and Sultan Fateh Khan".

The area that is now Mirpur has been historically associated with Pothohar. Though modern demarcation of Potohar devised by British excludes Mirpur by using Jhelum river as the eastern boundary. By the end of 18th century, Gakhar power in Pothohar had declined. Mirpur had become part of Chibb ruled state of Khari Khariyali with capital at Mangla Fort. With the rise of Sikh power in Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh established his supremacy and set his eyes on the Chibh states of Bhimber and Khari Khariyali. In 1810, a force was sent against Raja Sultan Khan of Bhimber and was met with fierce resistance. However, in 1812 another Sikh army under prince Kharak Singh defeated Sultan Khan and the Bhimber state was annexed as Jagir of Kharak Singh. Around the same time, Ranjit Singh acquired Gujrat and invaded Khari Khariyali ruled by Raja Umar Khan. Raja Umar Khan made peace with Ranjit Singh. But before a settlement could be made, he died and the state and Mirpur became part of Ranjit Singh's territories.

In 1816, Ranjit Singh annexed Jammu state and in 1820 awarded Jammu to his commander Gulab Singh who hailed from Jammu and was under the service of Ranjit Singh for the past eight years. Between 1831–39 Ranjit Singh bestowed on Gulab Singh the royalty of the salt mines in northern Punjab, and the northern Punjab towns including Bhera, Jhelum, Rohtas, Mirpur and Gujrat. Gulab Singh kept on expanding his kingdom and in 1840 Baltistan was made subject to Jammu and Gilgit fell to a Sikh force from Kashmir in 1842. The state of Kashmir was annexed by Ranjit Singh in 1819. However the rebellion in Hazara in the beginning of 1846, compelled the country to be transferred to Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu as well.

Shrine of Meeran Shah

As an aftermath of the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Treaty of Lahore, The Treaty of Amritsar was signed between the British Government and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu on March 16, 1846. This treaty transferred him all the hill states between Ravi and Indus. The transfer included Kashmir, Hazara and the southern hill states (including former Khari Khariyali). Thus sealing the fate of Mirpur with the new state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Early Mirpur

Since Mirpur lies at the point where the Jhelum River breaks out of the heavily forested foothills of the Pir Panjal mountains into the plains of the largely treeless Punjab. It was an ideal spot for the construction of the boats used to carry goods down the five rivers of the Punjab to the Indus River and onto the seaports in the Indus delta. Traders have been operating from there across the Indian Ocean for over three thousand years. Most of the crew on the boats trading up and down the Punjab and Indus River system were drawn from Mirpur, as training as a boat-builder was a necessary prerequisite for becoming a boatman.

British rule

With the arrival of British rule however, the thriving river trade was decimated due to the construction of railway lines from Bombay and Karachi into the interior of the Punjab. Moving goods by rail was both cheaper and quicker, and hundreds of Mirpuri boatmen found themselves out of a job.
At the same time long-distance ocean trade was shifting from sail to steam. There was a huge demand for men who were prepared to work in the hot, dirty and dangerous stokeholds of the new coal-fired steamers. European seamen avoided such jobs whenever they possibly could. They preferred to work on deck. But in the 1870s Mirpuri ex-river boatmen were desperately searching for a new source of income. Although unfamiliar with stoking coal-fired boilers, they were prepared to learn and quickly gained a virtual monopoly of jobs as engine-room stokers on new steamships sailing out of Karachi and Bombay, a position they retained until coal-fired ships were finally phased out of service at the end of the Second World War.

Indo-Pakistan War of 1947-48

On 14 August 1947, Mirpur was part of the princely state of Kashmir under the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh. A revolt against his rule erupted with the advent of Pakistan. This gained momentum by the invasion of Pushtun tribesmen from FATA. Most of Kashmir's state forces had barricaded themselves in Mirpur after having retreated from the surrounding posts in particular from Mangla Fort. On the outskirts of the city, the local rebels, being mainly retired army personnel from British and state's armies and defectors from the state's army, attacked the Maharaja's forces on 4 November 1947. Between 6 and 11 November, heavy battles between the former and Indian forces took place within the city. Mirpur city was captured by local rebels on 11 November and the rest of Mirpur district was captured by 25 November 1947. Pakistan Army helped at a later stage to restore law and order.

Post war

After World War II a new set of opportunities opened up. Britain's economy was just setting off on what proved to be a long post-war boom, and there was an acute short of labour in the foundries of the Midlands, and the textile mills of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Now it was the turn of ex-seamen to become industrial workers in Britain. So when the Mangla Dam was about to be constructed in 1960, the affectees of the dam who were going to be deprived of their agricultural land were afforded the opportunity to migrate to the United Kingdom and to join those of their kinsfolk who long before had established themselves in Britain.
As a result, Mirpur is one of the principal sources of migration from the State of Azad Kashmir to Europe, and especially to Britain, so much so that out of a million migrants from the state of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan, most of them i.e. 82% are Kashmiris. Although it is widely believed that the principal reason for this outflow was the construction of the Mangla Dam, which in no doubt is true, but the fact is that long before construction of dam, a sizable Kashmiri community existed in the UK.

Hindu and Sikh communities

Pre-partition, the Mirpur District had majorities of Hindu and Sikh populations in the principal towns of principal towns of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber. Refugees from Jhelum in Western Punjab had taken refuge in Mirpur town, causing the non-Muslim population to increase to 20,000. Tribesmen and Pakistani military members moved into the town, seizing the city. Houses of non-Muslims were set on fire, and the 5,000 who survived the march to the concentration camp in Alibeg were imprisoned there. By the end of the evening, no Hindus or Sikhs remained in the town. In January 1948, the ICRC rescued 1,600 of the survivors from Alibeg, who were resettled to Jammu and other areas of India.

Nearest Air port :  Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad
Nearest Railway Station :Jhelum Railway Station
Local transport: Bus Taxi Jeep also available at bagh    
Mobile Networks: UFONE , WARID , ZONG, MOBILINK
Inter net provider : PTCL Some local  

Mirpur

Hotels

S#	Name of Hotels	Single Bedroom / Rent	Double Bedroom / Rent	Triple Bedroom / Rent	Contact
1	Regency Hotel, Allama Iqbal Road	4 Rooms / 12000 Rs	50 Rooms / 15000 Rs	---	+92-(0)-5827-446710-6
2	Jabeer Hotel, Allama Iqbal Road	---	28 Rooms / 2500 Rs	---	+92-(0)-5827-443092 444283
3	Holi Day Inn Kashmir Hotel, Sector 3-D	---	40 Rooms / 2500 Rs	---	+92-(0)-5827-445454-5
4	Al-Manzar Hotel, Allama Iqbal Road	7 Rooms / 1200 Rs	15 Rooms / 1500 Rs	1 Room/1800 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-445601
5	Etashaam Hotel, Allama Iqbal Road	---	16 Rooms / 1500 Rs	5 Rooms/2500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-447197
6	Green Inn Hotel, Allama Iqbal Road	5 Rooms / 300 Rs	8 Rooms / 1000 Rs	1 Room/1500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-447165
7	New Kashmir Hotel, Near General Bus Stand	7 Rooms / 200 Rs	11 Room / 400 Rs	10 Rooms/550 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-443353
8	Rupayel Hotel, Chowk Shaheedan	16 Rooms / 900 Rs	16 Room / 1200 Rs	3 Rooms/1500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-443264 445702
9	Kalyaal Hotel, Chowk Shaheedan	6 Rooms / 300 Rs	8 Rooms / 1200 Rs	6 Rooms/1500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-442329

Lodges

S#	Name of Lodges	Single Bedroom / Rent	Double Bedroom / Rent	Contact
1	Executice Lodges House no 141 Sector D1 Allama Iqbal Road Mirpur	---	6 Rooms/2500-3000-3500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-442518 442539
2	Tourist Lodge, Mirpur	---	2 Rooms/850 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-926001

Guest Houses

S#	Name of Guest Houses	Single Bedroom / Rent	Double Bedroom / Rent	Contact
1	PWD Rest House, Secttor F2, Mirpur	---	14 Rooms Govt. Rent 350 Rs Private Rent 450 Rs VIP Rent 650 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-446615
2	Angulars Hutt Ahata Circle Office Forest	---	500 Rs	---
3	Industry Rest House, Industrial area	---	6 Rooms Govt. Rent 400 Rs Private Rent 500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-442122
4	Mumtaz Inn Guest House Sector D4 New Industry Area	3 Rooms / 1500 Rs	9 Rooms/2500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-448214 484302
5	Executive Lodges, Sector D-1 Allama Iqbal Road	---	6 Rooms/3500 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-445692 442518
6	Forest Rest House, Dudyal	---	3 Rooms/350-750 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-443787
7	PWD Rest House, Dudyal	---	3 Rooms/350-750 Rs	+92-(0)-5827-442165

	POLICE STATIONS

DIG Police Mirpur Range	DIG Office Chowk Shaheedan	49105
S.P Police Mirpur	SP Office Chowk Shaheedan	49107
D.S.P Headquarter	DSP Office Chowk Shaheedan	42694
D.S.P Mirpur	DSP Office Chowk Shaheedan	42603
CIA Staff Mirpur	Akbar Road Kalyal	42697
Police Station City Mirpur	Near Paramount Cinema Nangi	42121
Police Station Thothal Chowki	Thothal Road, Sector E-4	42629
Police line Purani Hatian	Naik Alam Road Purani Hatian	42131
Police Welfare Office	Naik Alam Road Purani Hatian	44770
District Jail Mirpur	Chechian Road Ban Khurman	32024

Hospitals

No	Name	Address	Phone No	Fax No
1	District Headquarter Hospital	Opp. Tourist inform. Office, Allama Iqbal Road
2	Jinnah Hospital	Opp. Degree College, Chowk Shaheedan
3	Mughal Hospital	Opp. School No.2, C-3, Fazal Chowk	44050
4	Noor Memorial Hospital	Mian Mohammad Road, Mirpur
5	Riaz Hospital	Opp. DHO Office, Allama Iqbal Road
6	Riasat Hospital	Bank Square Nangi, Allama Iqbal Road
7	Srinagar Hospital	Near, School No. 2 Sector C-1
8	Zubair Hospital	Near PSO Petrol Pump, F-1