Mirpur Azad Kashmir Rocks 5.69

Mirpur: is the capital and largest city of Mirpur district and one of the largest cities in the part of the state of Jammu Kashmir administered by Pakistan. Since Mirpur adjoins the northern plains of the Punjab, the climate is quite hot during the summer times. The city itself has gone through a process of modernization while most of the surrounding area remains agricultural. Mirpur is known for its grand buildings and large bungalow-houses primarily funded through its ex-pat community mainly which is resident in the United KingdomMirpur is also know as "Dusra England" because of high population of people living in England lives here. The main crop cultivated during spring is millet. However, there are places where other crops such as wheat, maize and vegetables are also grown. The production of electricity, through Mangla Dam makes this district somewhat unique in the entire region which provides energy needs for Azad Kashmir and Northern Punjab province much to the consternation of the locals which typically leads to unannounced energy blackouts.

A significant portion of the population is settled in England (UK) – mostly in the Midlands and north. For this reason Mirpur is sometimes known as "Little England". Many products from the UK are found in this city.

History: 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 now comprising 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.
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.

Tourism:
The government of Azad Kashmir is paying special attention to tourism in AJK and Mirpur, building new theme parks, rest houses, hotels and renovating old forts to attract tourists to the region. Places of interest in Mirpur are:

Basharat Shaheed Monument
Bhutto Park
Jari Kas Dam
Jatlan Head
Khari Sharif
Mangla Dam
Mangla Fort & Museum
Mangla Boating Club
Mirpur View Point Park
Ragu Nath Temple
Ramkot Fort
Shivala Temple