Poonch District, Pakistan

Poonch District (Urdu: ضلع پونچھ) is one of the ten districts of the Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.

It falls in the Poonch Division and is bounded on the north by Bagh District, on the north-east by Haveli District, on the south-east by the Poonch District of the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, on the south by Sudhanoti and Kotli districts, and on the west by the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan.

The Poonch District is part of the greater Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. The district headquarters is the city of Rawalakot. It is the third most populous district of Azad Kashmir. Historically, the area now constituting Poonch District was part of the Sudhanoti region, which later became a tehsil of the former Poonch State.

The main language is Pahari, native to an estimated 95% of the population, but there are also speakers of Gujari, while Urdu has the status of the official language.

Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar. According to Rajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch resisted Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded Poonch 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).

Poonch came under the Kashmir Sultanate during late 15th century through the military campaigns of Malik Tazi Bhat, a general of the Sultanate. He led military campaigns that resulted in the conquest and administration of several regions, including Poonch, Jammu, Rajouri, Bhimber, Jhelum, Sialkot, and Gujrat, from 1475 to 1487. Following its incorporation, Poonch was administered as a vassal state under the Kashmir Sultanate. Local rulers retained a degree of autonomy but were required to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Sultan and provide tribute and military support when necessary. This arrangement persisted until the late 16th century, when the region came under Mughal influence. In 1596, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch, marking the end of its vassalage under Kashmir.

In 1596, Mughal Emperor Jahangir granted Siraj-ud-Din Rathore rulership over Poonch Jagir. Earlier, during his second visit to Kashmir in 1592, Emperor Akbar, accompanied by Prince Salim (later Jahangir), had passed through the Haji Pir Pass, where Rathore's hospitality had greatly impressed them. As a result, the Mughals rewarded him with authority in the region. Siraj-Ud-Din and his descendants ruled the some parts of Poonch area up to 1792. The Rathore family and their descendants ruled substantial parts of Poonch until around 1792, administering their domains as separate jagirs under Mughal suzerainty. However, their authority did not extend over the entire territory and areas such as Sudhanoti and nearby highlands were governed by local Sudhan chieftains, who likewise maintained their own independent jagirs. Thus, the political structure of Poonch during this period was fragmented, with Rathore rulers and Sudhan chiefs each exercising autonomous control over their respective estates.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Durrani Afghans conquered Kashmir, taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire. They thus obtained control of Poonch, and established their government in the region. They ruled the region until 1819, when the Sikh Empire routed them from the Kashmir Valley, and annexed parts of Poonch (eastern half). They subsequently lost rule in any remaining territories in Kashmir.