Rawalakot
Sector Headquarters is at 2 Ak Brigade in Rawalakot. There is a common saying in the Indian Army that the LoC is one place where a sub-tactical situation can become strategic in less than five minutes. That’s because alongside that state, a host of other situations interplay to give it hype. The LoC is no longer just a line on the ground separating the two Armies. It’s a place where Pakistan attempts to send a message to the world about the existence of the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) issue.
Pakistani military deployment on the LoC is thin compared to the Indian deployment along the counterpart sectors. The Pakistani side has not erected border fences, has stationed fewer troops, constructed fewer posts, and carries out very little patrolling along the zero line. The 1 AK Brigade is located in Muzaffarabad, the 2 AK Brigade in Rawalakot, the 3 AK Brigade in Kotli (has an area of responsibility located opposite to the Rajouri, Poonch, Naushera and Sunderbani sectors), the 4 AK Brigade in Bandli, the 5 AK Brigade in Dhani, the 6 AK Brigade in Bagh, the 7 AK Brigade in Bhimber, and the 32 AK Brigade in Kel.
Rawalakot is the capital of the Poonch District of Azad Kashmir. It is in a saucer-shaped valley at elevation 1615 metres (5300 ft), and 76 km from Kohalla. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range. Its other name is Pearl Valley because the abundance of almond blossoms in the valley in summer gives the impression of scattered pearls when viewed from a mountain. It is the heart land of Sudhan tribes which had contributed about sixty thousand soldiers to the British Army during World War.
Residents of the Poonch/Rawalakot district have diverse but limited means of livelihoods including farming, livestock, poultry farming, government service (both civil and military), and business and overseas employment. Industry is minimal in terms of contributions towards livelihoods. In-country seasonal migration for employment is very common.
District Poonch/Rawalakot is composed of diverse communities. People of different faiths live peacefully in the district. Races like Gujjars, Bakerwals, Syeds, Kashmiris and Rajputs. Gujjars mostly reside on the slopes of mountains. They have small pieces of land for cultivation and cattle for supplementing their economy. Bakerwals are nomadic tribes. Gujjars and Bakerwals speak Gojri whereas rest of the population (excluding Kashmiris) speak Pahari/Rawalakoti. The mother tongue is a great cementing factor of the Pahari speaking people because they remain so closely associated with each other that cultural ethos transcend all that of distinct beliefs and faiths.
Banjosa and Toli Pir are two popular tourism destinations in this area. Lodges, government-owned and private guest houses, and hotels are available in different parts of Rawalakot. Attractions include: mountain-based adventure tourism, rock climbing, mountaineering, trekking, summer camping and hiking, water-based adventure tourism, and paragliding. A Temple is located about two kilometer away from city Rawalakot near the upper block Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, The University of Poonch. Standing near the temple presents a charming sight of Rawalakot city also the beautiful view of University of Poonch.
Rawalakot and its surrounding areas have a population of over 500,000. Its Population includes(Mir,Butt), Awans, Abbasis, Kianis, Syeds Gardezis, MUGHAL (Douli, Mirza, Baig, chughtai & Hotil or HOTI largest Mughal tribe in UC BANGUIN and many others. There is also a significant number of people from other regions who live in Rawalakot for sake of employment in the government sector.
Rawalakot is considered as the pearl of Kashmir which itself is known as “heaven on earth”. It carries extreme natural beauty .it does not have rich culture but it is mainly renowned for its natural beauty and tourism. People at villages are generally poor and increased numbers of tourists are one source of their employment and source of income.
The area of the district Poonch/Rawalakot is 855 sqkm and the total population is 411.04 thousands with an average growth rate of 2.24%. Average household size is 7.6 and 8.00 persons in rural and urban areas respectively. The 86.84% of the population lived in rural areas. The literacy rate of the district is 67.22% with 72.10% for urban and 66.45% for rural areas. The literacy rate among male is 80.23% as compared to the 54.04% for female. There are 617 km of metalled and 1205 kms of fair weather roads in Poonch/Rawalakot district. The population with access to safe drinking water was 16.28%. The 79.66% of the district population is connected with electricity. There are 53694 housing units in the district with 87.5% of rural housing units. The 16.64% of the population have facility of separate latrine and 12.05% of population used shared latrine.
The October 8th, 2005 earthquake affected almost all aspects of socio-economic life of the people along with the physical infrastructures both in private and public sectors. The loss of human life in Poonch/Rawalakot district was 1120 whereas 1883 persons were injured. The district has suffered a significant loss due to the Oct 2005 earthquake. The 83% of the private houses are fully damaged with 15% are partially damaged. The damage to education sector is 95% as 923 schools are damaged in both public and private sector. In health sector, 213 health facilities are fully or partially damaged.
