Rawalakot راولا کوٹ | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 A view of Rawalakot | |
  Rawalakot Location of Rawalakot Show map of Azad Kashmir Rawalakot Rawalakot (Kashmir) Show map of Kashmir Rawalakot Rawalakot (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan | |
| Coordinates:33°51′12″N73°45′05″E / 33.85333°N 73.75139°E /33.85333; 73.75139 | |
| Administering country |  Pakistan |
| Administrative Territory |  Azad Kashmir |
| District | Poonch District |
| Elevation | 1,638 m (5,374 ft) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 56,006 |
• Estimate (2018) | 56,590 |
| • Density | 375/km2 (970/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Urdu[2][3][note 1] |
| • Spoken | Pahari (Poonchi) |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| 05824 | 0092 |
| Number oftowns | 3 |
| Number ofUnion councils | 21 |
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Rawalakot (Pahari,Urdu:راولا کوٹ ) is the capital ofPoonch district inPakistan–administeredAzad Kashmir, in the disputedKashmir region. It is located in thePir Panjal Range.[4]
The 1837 Poonch Revolt was an uprising led by Shams Khan, Mali Khan, and Sabz Ali Khan against the Dogra rulers of Jammu. It was centered in the Poonch region and extended to Rawalakot and surrounding villages including Jalandali,Khai Gala, Dothan, and Ali Sojal.[5][6][7]
On 15 June 1947,Sardar Ibrahim Khan addressed a meeting in Rawalakot attended by 20,000 people, and gave a speech telling his audience that Pakistan, a Muslim state, was coming into being and the people of Jammu and Kashmir could not remain unaffected. After that day, he says, "a strange atmosphere took the place of the usually peaceful life in these parts".[8] On 22 June, Chaudhary Hamidullah, the acting president of the Muslim Conference, visited Rawalakot and initiated secret plans to organise the ex-servicemen of the district for an eventual confrontation with the Dogra State Forces.[9] On or around 6 October, the armed rebellion started in the Poonch district.[10][11] The fighting elements consisted of "bands of deserters from the State Army, serving soldiers of the Pakistan Army on leave, ex-servicemen, and other volunteers who had risen spontaneously."[12] The rebels quickly gained control of almost the entire Poonch district, including Rawalakot.
Along withPallandri, Rawalakot was the focal point of the1955 Poonch uprising. It was led by the localSudhans who disapproved ofSher Ahmed Khan and wantedSardar Ibrahim Khan, as well as democratic reforms.[13]
On Saturday, 8 October 2005[14] a 7.6 magnitude earthquake killed 73,338 people and left up to three million homeless in Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir. The city of Rawalakot suffered significant damage from the2005 earthquake; although most of the buildings were left standing, many of them were rendered uninhabitable, and some of the population was left homeless. Most of the buildings have been reconstructed.
Rawalakot is located atLatitude 33°51'32.18"N,Longitude 73° 45'34.93"E and anelevation of 5374 feet. Rawalakot is approximately 76 kilometres (47 mi) fromKahuta and about 120 km (75 mi) from the city ofRawalpindi,Pakistan. It is linked with Rawalpindi andIslamabad via Goyain Nala andTain roads. Via Kotli Satiyan and Kahuta. It is also linked with Rawalpindi viaSudhnuti.[15]
Construction of the Ghazi-e-Millat road (also known as Guoien Nala road) between Rawalakot andAzad Pattan has considerably reduced travel time, it is main road which is connectingIslamabad/Rawalpindi to Rawalakot city.
The road passing through Pakgali-Paniola connects Rawalakot toBagh,Rawalpindi andMuzaffarabad. The alternative road that passes through Mohri Farman Shah, Shuja Abad is the shortest possible road link that connects Rawalakot city with Bagh.Murree, Islamabad and Rawalpindi are situated in a southward direction from Rawalakot. The town has another road link withKotli.[16]
Rawalakot Airport is non-operational and it has been closed since October 2005.[17]
Rawalakot features asubtropical highland climate under theKöppen climate classification due to highaltitude. The weather of Rawalakot is quite erratic. However, the climate of Rawalakot can be divided into four seasons, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter. Rawalakot has mild to warm temperatures during the spring and autumn, humid temperatures during the summer and cold to snowy during the winter. The temperature can rise as high as 38 °C (100 °F) during the mid-summer months and drop below −1 °C (30 °F) during the winter months. Snowfall occurs in December and January, while most rainfall occurs during the monsoon season stretching from July to September.[18]
| Climate data for Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) | 32.9 (91.2) | 34.4 (93.9) | 41.0 (105.8) | 45.0 (113.0) | 46.6 (115.9) | 43.2 (109.8) | 40.0 (104.0) | 39.4 (102.9) | 39.9 (103.8) | 33.3 (91.9) | 28.9 (84.0) | 46.6 (115.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.3 (63.1) | 19.8 (67.6) | 24.7 (76.5) | 30.6 (87.1) | 36.3 (97.3) | 38.1 (100.6) | 34.8 (94.6) | 33.5 (92.3) | 33.2 (91.8) | 30.4 (86.7) | 25.2 (77.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 28.6 (83.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) | 6.7 (44.1) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.9 (60.6) | 21.0 (69.8) | 23.8 (74.8) | 24.3 (75.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 14.8 (58.6) | 8.8 (47.8) | 5.0 (41.0) | 15.0 (59.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) | 0.0 (32.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 3.3 (37.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 13.0 (55.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 13.0 (55.4) | 1.9 (35.4) | 0.0 (32.0) | −3.3 (26.1) | −3.3 (26.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 24.9 (0.98) | 30.8 (1.21) | 31.2 (1.23) | 20.1 (0.79) | 14.4 (0.57) | 44.1 (1.74) | 112.8 (4.44) | 136.3 (5.37) | 43.8 (1.72) | 15.7 (0.62) | 14.5 (0.57) | 19.1 (0.75) | 507.7 (19.99) |
| Source:[19] | |||||||||||||
Rawalakot has an urban population of 56,006 people according to the 2017 census which rose to 56,590 in 2018.[1] Majority of Rawalakot’s population is ethnicallySudhan.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir travel guide from Wikivoyage33°51′12.26″N73°45′05.31″E / 33.8534056°N 73.7514750°E /33.8534056; 73.7514750