Bhimber District ( ضلع بھمبر) is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the southernmost of the 10 districts of Pakistan’s territory of Azad Kashmir. It has an area of 1,516 km², and the district headquarter is the town of Bhimber.
History
The area is rich in archeological remains due to its strategic location on the route that was followed by the Mughal emperors on their frequent visits to the Kashmir Valley.
It is strategically important from defense and military standpoint. Due to its location, it became known as the Gateway to Kashmir (Bab-e-Kashmir).
During the 1947 Poonch rebellion and subsequent Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Bhimber was captured by the Azad Kashmir rebels supported by Pakistan and became a part of the Azad Kashmir.
Previously, Bhimber was a tehsil of the Mirpur District but was elevated to district status in 1996.
Location
The Bhimber District is bounded on the north by the Kotli District, on the east by the Rajouri District and the Jammu District of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, on the south by the Gujrat District of Pakistan’s Punjab Province, and on the west by the Mirpur District. The town of Bhimber is 50 km from the city of Mirpur.
Demography
According to the 2017 census, the population of the district is 420,624.
The main native languages are Punjabi (according to a rough estimate, spoken by 35% of the population), Pahari-Pothwari (30%), Dogri (30%) and Gujari (5%).Urdu language has ‘official’ status.
Education
According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2015, the Bhimber District ranked 10th out of 145 districts in Pakistan and its two dependent territories in terms of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district ranked 116 out of 145.
