abbreviated as AJK and commonly known as Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally
self-governing jurisdiction,and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been
the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947, and between India and China since 1962.The territory
shares a border with Gilgit-Baltistan, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations and other international
organisations as "Pakistan administered Kashmir".Azad Kashmir is one-sixth of the size of Gilgit-Baltistan.The territory
also borders Pakistan's Punjab province to the south and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the west. To the east, Azad Kashmir
is separated from the Indian administered Kashmir by the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan.
Azad Kashmir has a total area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi), and a total population of 4,045,366 as per
the 2017 Census.
The territory has a parliamentary form of government modelled after the Westminster system, with its capital located at
Muzaffarabad. The President is the constitutional head of state, while the Prime Minister, supported by a Council of
Ministers, is the chief executive. The unicameral Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly elects both the Prime Minister and
President. The state has its own Supreme Court and a High Court, while the Government of Pakistan's Ministry of Kashmir
Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan serves as a link with Azad Kashmir's government, although Azad Kashmir is not represented in
the Parliament of Pakistan.
An earthquake in 2005 killed 100,000 people and left another three million people displaced, with widespread devastation.
Since then, with help from the Government of Pakistan and foreign donors, reconstruction of infrastructure is underway.
Azad Kashmir's economy largely depends on agriculture, services, tourism, and remittances sent by members of the British
Mirpuri community. Nearly 87% of the households own farms in Azad Kashmir,while the region has a literacy rate of
approximately 72% and has the highest school enrollment in Pakistan.
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