Muzaffarabad

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Muzaffarabad مظفرآباد

General Information
Country	Pakistan
Province	Azad Kashmir
Altitude	3000m app AMSL
Area	6117 Sq. Km km²
Calling code	058810
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
No. of Towns
Population	0.725 million 1998
Estimate	0.742 million 1999
Government
No. of Union Councils
No. of NGOs Working
Emblem

Website
Muzaffarabad Local Government

Muzaffarabad (Urdu: مظفرآباد, is the capital of the State of Azad Kashmir, located in the north of the state, which is the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located in Muzaffarabad District. Muzafarabad district, located on the banks of the Jhelum and the Neelum Rivers, is very hilly. The district is bounded to Punjab in the west and to Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the east while Northern Areas fall on the northeast of the district. Total area of the district is 6117 square kilometers. Total population of the district according to 1998 census stands at 725,000 and according to 1999 projection its population stands at 741,000. The district comprises three tehsils. Muzaffarabad city in the district serves as capital of Azad Kashmir.

1 Location
2 History
3 Dangers zone after earthquake 2005
4 Sites Of Interest
- 4.1 Forts
- 4.2 Other
5 Valleys
6 Tehsils
7 2005 Kashmir Earthquake
- 7.1 Multimedia
8 External links

[edit] Location

Muzaffarabad is situated at the confluence of the Jhelum & Neelum rivers. It is at a distance of 138 kilometers from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and about 76 kilometers from Abbottabad. Cradled by lofty mountains, Muzaffarabad is a blend of varied cultures and languages. The Neelum river plays a dominant role in the microclimate of Muzaffarabad.

[edit] History

The name of Muzaffarabad has been given to it after the name of Sultan Muzaffar Khan, a former chief of the Bomba Dynasty. Since then it has been one of the important cities of Kashmir. After 1947 independence war, Muzaffarabad was made the capital of State of Azad Kashmir.

On 8 October 2005 it was struck by an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter Scale.

[edit] Dangers zone after earthquake 2005

Vally of Death

right|thumb|320px|Humanitarian aid reaches the devastated far flung areas of Northern Pakistan

thumb|320px|Pakistani Soldiers carry tents away from a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter here October 19. The United States is taking part in the multinational effort to provide humanitarian assistance and support to Pakistan and Afghanistan following the devastating October 8 earthquake.

thumb|320px|Heavy snowfall in the region around the epicenter, shown here in a January 6, 2006 NASA satellite image, has hampered relief efforts since beginning shortly after the earthquake struck. Example.jpg|Caption1

[edit] Sites Of Interest

[edit] Forts

There are two historical forts on the opposite sides of the river Neelum.

Red Fort
Black Fort

During the year 1949 the construction of the red fort was undertaken. It was finally completed by Sultan Muzaffar Khan the founder of Muzaffarabad city during 1646. When the Mughals overtook the Kashmir rule, this fort lost its importance. The Mughals were more interested in Kabul, Bukhara and Badakshan. During the Durrani rule the fort again came into limelight and its importance was rediscovred.

Maharaja Gulab Singh and Ranbir Singh, the Dogra rulers, reconstructed and extended the fort for political and military operations. Towards the end of 1947 the Dogra forces filed away leaving the fort wide open to anybody.

The architectonics of the fort show that great experts in design and structure participated in its construction. It is surrounded on three sides by Neelum River formally known as Kishan Ganga. The northern part had terraces with steps leading to the bank of the river. The Eastern side of the fort was very well protected from the hazards of flood waters but some parts in the north were slightly damaged. There was an inn at the entry of the fort of which there is only traces left now.

[edit] Other

Azad Kashmir Assembly
Azad Kashmir Supreme Court
Masque Assembly Secretariat
Kh. Khurshid Tomb
Chehla Bridge
Subri (Langarpura) Lake

[edit] Valleys

Pirchinassi
Neelum Valley
- Athmuqam
- Neelum
- Sharda
- Kel
Jhelum Valley
Leepa Valley

[edit] Tehsils

Punjkot

[edit] 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

Main article: 2005 Kashmir Earthquake

A hotel in Muzaffarabad that was destroyed in the earthquake

Muzaffarabad was the epicenter of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, which occurred on 8 October 2005 and had an earthquake magnitude of 7.6. It destroyed 50% of the buildings in the town (including most official buildings) and is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir alone.

The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the Northern Pakistan earthquake or South Asia earthquake) of 2005 was a major seismological disturbance (earthquake) that occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC, 09:20:38 India Standard Time, 08:50:38 local time at epicenter) on October 8, 2005 with the epicenter in the Pakistan-administered region of the disputed territory of Kashmir in South Asia. It registered 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

As of 8 November, the Pakistani government's official death toll was 87,350. Some estimate that the death toll could reach over 100,000. [1] [2]

Within a few hours after the earthquake, workers of the PFP started humanitarian work at individual level. Initially they focused on rescue, first aid, searching strangled individuals under the debris and providing shelter, recovery of wounded persons and dead bodies. When everyone was in the condition of shock, PFP started working upon extreme emergency basis. With a small setup and no assets, its volunteers were determined to put the best of the efforts. To set an example, the Chief Coordinator PFP handed over all his belongings to the affected people who were in the dire need of relief goods. During the recurring jolts, when everyone was worried about his own and his relatives’ safety, Khawaja Zafar Iqbal, the founder chief co-ordinator of PFP went after the screams of severely wounded school children and recovered a large number of them to the first aid units. He was mad to pursue the cries of strangled and dying children. To follow his example, each member of the Press for Peace devoted himself for emergency relief work. For first two days journalists and reporters in Azad Kashmir engaged themselves to the much needed rescue work. During that period, what was reported on national and international media, it was based on rumours and personal accounts of some of the victims in lesser-affected areas. In fact, the actual scene of destruction was not being reported in a professional manner. At this critical time, PFP felt its responsibilities. It observed that the best possible humanitarian work at the time was to inform the world about devastation of the earthquake. The chief coordinator called an emergency meeting of the executive council. Tariq Naqash, , Mohammad Fareed-ul-hadam, Raja Wseem Khan (the scriptwriter of this report), Asif Raza Mir,Iftikhar Rana,Aftab Alam,Tariq Durrani,Najam-ul-Islam Assri, Aurangzeb Saifullah, Rafiq Mughal,Aslam Mir,Tanvir Tanoli,Daniyal Shehab and others attendended the meeting. Though, every member of PFP was shattered at the occasion, they managed to gather at the debris of a building with there wounded hearts and souls. A few have wounds on their bodies too. Their houses were destroyed and family members killed. Tears! Tears! Every where Tears.

After the earthquake, everyone present at the first emergency meeting of Press for Peace decided to resume professional responsibilities with a renewed pledge to serve the ailing humanity and put the best of their efforts to save the dying human beings. It was decided to immediately contact, by any means, with electronic and print media in major cities of Pakistan. The members started contacting the media persons and media houses via a few private telephone lines still lying intact.

Press for Peace observed at the occasion that unfortunately, the professional journalistic sources were totally damaged by the earthquake. The chief co-ordinator managed to meet the emergency need of cameras, films and telephone sets by self-help basis through personal contacts. It was found that most of the communication links with external world were non-existent and unavailable. PFP realized that first two days media reports focused only the Margalla towers in Islamabad. It meant the world was unaware of the much higher destruction in the upper mountainous regions of Northern Pakistan. The members of PFP made rigorous efforts to send photographs and films of the havoc via army helicopters. Due to non-availability of electricity, the fax service, a major tool of the reporting team was non-existent. The journalists of PFP used private contacts to convey the details of tragic account the death and destruction to the media houses. Within a few days, PFP was the most active media entity in Muzaffarabad to guide national and international media. Later on, many established and worldly recognized media organizations acknowledged the services of PFP. During the earthquake, Amir-u-din Mughal Coordinator PFP who is also working for international news agency Reuters as a photojournalist got serious injuries. But he resumed his professional activities within a few days. His images of the destruction in affected areas drew international attention and subsequently, a multitude of national and international donor agencies started arriving there. When these NGOs, government representatives and individual philanthropists reached in Muzaffarabad, they wanted to gain information and access to the worst hit areas. The members of Press for Peace voluntarily offered their services to assist those individuals and organizations.

On 11 October 2005, an extra-ordinary meeting of the executive council of PFP held in Muzaffarabad. The council realized that due to non-availability of coordinated media efforts, most of the NGOs and humanitarian organizations were facing hurdles to reach to the affected areas. Therefore, in order to guide and assist a large number of the members of incoming welfare bodies, the council decided to establish PFP Volunteer Force. Headed by a student, Zulfiqar Beg, the volunteers did a marvellous job. PFP acknowledges and appreciates the services of volunteers Javed Hashmi,Zaheer Jagwal,Tahir Farooqi,Mehmood Gillani,Babar Awan,Basharat, Malik Zulfiqar, Danial Shahab, Wafaq Anjum, Hafiz Saeed-ur-Rehman,Fazil Mughal, Ejaz Kazmi, Zubair-u-din Arifi, Saeed-ur-Rehman Sajjad, Mahraj Alam,EjazAlam,Miss Iram,Miss Shugfta,Tassadaq , Waqar Hashmi, Zarrar Baloch and many others from the university, schools and colleges. The PFPVF’s efforts were a guiding source and inspiration for those who remained in the state of shock and helplessness for the first few days. Resultantly, a large number of people from every walk of life volunteered themselves for relief work. Press for Peace assigned them tasks according to their skills and capabilities. In order to guide and assist foreign NGOs, journalists and survey teams of university and college students with good command over English were detailed as interpreters. In fact, when aid workers from different parts of the world reached Muzaffarabad, they found it difficult to ascertain the scale of relief in the remote areas of upper villages of Muzaffarabad and Neelum Valley. At this occasion PFP provided them much needed guidance and awareness about these areas. Being impressed by the selfless contribution of the volunteer force, more and more people contacted to participate in humanitarian work. It was encouraging. The candle lights the candle. Within a few days, the number of volunteers raised to 250 and later on more than 500.

When everyone was running after the much needed relief goods for the sake of life of his kith and kin, the members of PFP devoted themselves to assist those unfortunate families where no male members were left behind. The members of PFP would collect cooked food from charities and distributed it among those who were in dire need of it.

Press for Peace with the assistance of other NGOs and donor agencies distributed 1000 plastic sheets, 500 burners, 852 quilts, 250 lamps, 500 sacks coal, 460 blankets (Korean), 950 packets of dates (1 kg each), 460 bundles of sweaters, 1150 shawls, 560 blankets (ordinary) in the affected families. More over, 22 trucks load of food items, clothes, jackets, shoes and other items of daily use were also distributed. PFP took care of the ego of the affected people during relief work and humanitarian activities. During the dark hours, volunteers and central office holders of PFP carried the relief goods on their shoulders and distributed in the widows, hawkers, journalists and members of district administration. Before earthquake, they all were well to do citizens, but now they have nothing except clothes on their bodies. Each member of PFP voluntarily distributed the relief goods without any hidden motive of publicity or fame. PFP is an organization of selfless devotees and zealous enthusiasts who share the common goal of reducing human miseries.

The volunteers of PFPVF also provided meals to media persons, press clubs and bureau offices of different news agencies where everyone, without caring about his own needs, was engaged in preparing and sending reports day and night. This practice continued till the reopening of the restaurants and hotels in the city.

Press for Peace established a media city in Chehla Bandi on emergency basis to facilitate media persons. Hotels and restaurants were not available due to the massive destruction. This facility remained functional for 7 months and offered professional facilities to media persons. Suitable arrangements of daily meals and lodging were made the PFP Media City. Relief Work in District Bagh In District Bagh, PFP team comprising of Yousaf Kashmiri, Dr. Hafeez, Tahir Shah, Imran Gillani, Shoukat Taimoor, Miss Obaida, Miss Salma and others started humanitarian work on self help basis. PFP distributed tents, blankets, and gas cylinders, lamps and ration for the journalists and hawkers of Bagh. The organization also established a free medical camp in Bagh. In District Sadhnoti, the slightly affected area, Shakeel Choudhry and Naveed Shaheen continued their efforts on journalistic front.

[edit] Multimedia

[edit] External links

Official

Unofficial

Provincial and Territorial Capitals of Pakistan
Sindh: Karachi \| Punjab: Lahore \| NWFP: Peshawar \| Balochistan: Quetta
Northern Areas: Gilgit \| Federally Administered Tribal Areas: Peshawar \| Azad Kashmir: Muzaffarabad
Federal Capital: Islamabad