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Neelam
District
Map of Azad Kashmir with Neelum District highlighted Neelum is the most northern district of Azad Kashmir
Country	Pakistan
Province	Azad Kashmir
Headquarters	Athmuqam
Area
• Total	3,621 km (1,398 sq mi)
Population
• Total	126,000
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	2 (Athmuqam, Sharda)

Neelam District (Also spelled Neelum District) (Template:Lang-ur) is one of the ten districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Until recently it was part of Muzaffarabad District. It is bound by the Gilgit (Northern Areas) to the North, with Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipore Districts of Indian-administered Kashmir in India to the South and Southeast, Muzaffarabad District to the Southwest and Mansehra District to the West. The district was badly affected by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

Subdivisions

It comes under the Kashmir section which is part of the greater dispute between India and Pakistan. The district is administratively subdivided into two tehsils: Athmuqam and Sharda.

Languages

It is the northernmost district of Azad Kashmir. A variety of languages are spoken in the district. Hindko however, is the predominant language and is spoken mostly in the west and southwest towards the border with Muzzafarrabad and NWFP (now Khayber Pakhtoonkhwa). Shina and Kashmiri are the predominant languages spoken in the northeastern part of the district towards the border with Baramulla, Gurez, Bandipore, Astore District and Baltistan and also in the far north on the border with Diamer District. Pashto is also spoken in a few villages on the Line of Control with Kupwara. Other languages include Gojri and the Kundal Shahi Language which is an archaic form of Shina however, it is heavily influenced by Kashmiri and Hindko. The Kundal Shahi Language is spoken in a village called Kundal Shahi near Athmuqam. The language is under tremendous threat. If the current situation of language loss continues unabated, it is estimated that the language will disappear in the near future

Ethnic groups

Neleum district is least populated in all districts of Azad Kashmir.Ethnic groups living in neleum include sayyeds,Dar,Khwajgans,Pathans,Mughal,Rajpots etc.

Geography

Neelam District is the largest district of Azad Kashmir by area. It is a valley extending approximately 200 kilometers along the Neelum River. Notable locations in the district include: Nausery, Leswa, Barian, Jura, Kundal Shai, Jagran, Salkhala, Shahkot, Athmuqam, Keran, Sharda, Kel, Taobat, and Halmat.

See also

• Neelam Valley
• Sharada Peeth

References

1. Neelum Valley - Government of Pakistan
2. rmc.org.pk - Earthquake Map
3. Rehman, Khawaja A. and Joan Baart (2005). "A First Look at the Language of Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir". SIL Electronic Working Papers (SILEWP 2005-008), Dallas, Texas. http://www.sil.org/silewp/abstract.asp?ref=2005-008

External links

• Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
• Azad Jammu and Kashmir travel guide from Wikivoyage

v t e Districts of Azad Kashmir
Provincial capital: Muzaffarabad
Mirpur	Bhimber Kotli Mirpur
Muzaffarabad	Hattian Bala Muzaffarabad Neelum
Poonch	Bagh Haveli Poonch Sudhanoti

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