Muzaffarabad

For other uses, see Muzaffarabad (disambiguation).
Muzaffarabad
مُظفّرآباد
City
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Coordinates: 34°21′40″N 73°27′43″E / 34.361°N 73.462°E / 34.361; 73.462
Country  Pakistan
Territory  Azad Kashmir
Area
 • Total 6,117 km2 (2,362 sq mi)
Elevation 737 m (2,418 ft)
Population (2010)
 • Total 96,000
 • Estimate (2010) 96,000
Time zone PST (UTC+05:00)
Website Muzaffarabad Local Government
Muzaffarabad
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [1][2]

Muzaffarabad (Urdu: مُظفَّرآباد‎; Pahari, Potwari: مُظفٌر آباد) is the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan.

It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the west, by the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the east, and the Neelum District of Azad Kashmir in the north.

History

Early history

The original name of Muzaffarabad was Udabhanda.[3]

Hieun tsang, the celebrated Buddhist pilgrim who is said to have visited the valley in 633 A.D mentions Pan-nu-tso, i.e., modern day Punch, Ho-lo-she-pu-to i.e. modern day Rajauri. He entered India from Udabhanda, Urasa (present Muzafrabad and Uskara) entered the valley via Baramula gorge.[4]

Udabhanda was the capital of the Shahi dynasty. The Shahi (Devanagari शाही), also called Shahiya,[5][6] dynasties ruled portions of the Kabul Valley (in eastern Afghanistan) and the old province of Gandhara (northern Pakistan and Kashmir) from the decline of the Kushan Empire in third century to the early ninth century.[6] The kingdom was known as Kabul-shahan or Ratbel-shahan from (565 – 670 CE) when they had their capitals in Kapisa and Kabul, and later Udabhandapura (also known as Hund)[7] for its new capital.

The term Shahi is the title of the rulers, likely related to the Kushan form Shao[6] or Persian form Shah and refers to a series of 60 rulers probably descended from the Kushans or Turks (Turshkas).[6]

Modern history

The capital of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is situated at the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. It is 138 km from Rawalpindi and about 76 km from Abbottabad. The present name of Muzaffarabad has been given to it after the name of Sultan Muzaffar Khan, a chief of Bomba Dynasty (1652). There are two forts, namely, Red and Black Fort, situated on the opposite sides of river Neelum. The Neelum river streams through the town, joins the river Jhelum at Domel and plays a dominant role in the micro-climate of Muzaffarabad.[8]

On October 8, 2005, the city was struck by an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter Scale.[9]

2005 Kashmir earthquake

The city was the site of the epicenter of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, which occurred on October 8, 2005 and had a magnitude of 7.6. The disaster destroyed 50% of the buildings in the city (including most of the official buildings) and is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people in the Pakistani-controlled areas of Kashmir.

As of 8 November 2005 the Pakistani government's official death toll was 87,350. Some estimates put the death toll over 100,000.[10]

Valleys

  • Nakkah
  • Satellite Town Langarpura
  • Bugna Kairabad
  • Darakoti, Nakar Fatot

Transport

The closest railway stations are Murree in Pakistan and Baramulla in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.[11] Jammu and Kashmir ex-chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he intended to extend the Kashmir railway to Muzaffarabad, to facilitate movement of people and goods much easier across the LoC Line of Control.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Muzaffarabad at Sunmap. Sunmap.eu. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  2. ↑ World Weather Information Service. Worldweather.wmo.int (2006-10-05). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  3. ↑ "The original name of Muzaffarabad was Udabhanda.". cleanpakistan.org.
  4. ↑ Poonam, Chaudhary (2005) A study of cultural routes of Jammu Region. In: 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Monuments and sites in their setting – conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes’, 17 – 21 oct 2005, Xi'an, China.
  5. ↑ Sehrai, Fidaullah (1979). Hund: The Forgotten City of Gandhara, p. 1. Peshawar Museum Publications New Series, Peshawar.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Shahi Family". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Oct 2006.
  7. ↑ Sehrai, Fidaullah (1979). Hund: The Forgotten City of Gandhara, p. 2. Peshawar Museum Publications New Series, Peshawar.
  8. ↑ "Muzaffarabad". tourism.gov.pk.
  9. ↑ "Earthquake in Kashmir". storyofpakistan.com.
  10. ↑ Stuart, Julia. (2006-01-01) IoS Appeal: Last chance to donate to quake victims. News.independent.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  11. ↑ Google Maps. Maps.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  12. ↑ Azad's Vision: A train to Muzaffarabad. News.oneindia.in (2007-07-17). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Muzaffarabad.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muzaffarabad.

Coordinates: 34°21′N 73°28′E / 34.350°N 73.467°E / 34.350; 73.467

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