Editing Azad Kashmir (section)

===Ethnic groups===
{{See also|Azad Kashmiri diaspora}}

[[Christopher Snedden]] writes that most of the native residents of Azad Kashmir are not of [[Kashmiris|Kashmiri]] ethnicity; rather, they could be called "[[Jammu region|Jammuites]]" due to their historical and cultural links with that region, which is coterminous with neighbouring [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and [[Hazara region|Hazara]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snedden |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris |date=15 September 2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-84904-622-0 |pages=21–24 |language=en |quote=Confusingly, the term 'Kashmiri' also has wider connotations and uses. Some people in Azad Kashmir call themselves 'Kashmiris' This is despite most Azad Kashmiris not being of Kashmiri ethnicity. Indeed, most of their ethnic, cultural and historical links have been, and remain, with areas to the south and west of Azad Kashmir, chiefly Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Nevertheless, Azad Kashmiris call themselves Kashmiris because of their region's historical connections with the former princely state of J&K that popularly was called Kashmir. Some Azad Kashmiris also call themselves Kashmiris simply because their region's official name, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has the word Kashmir in it. (Using the same logic, Azad Kashmiris could call themselves "'Jammuites', which historically and culturally would be more accurate, or even 'Azadi- ites'.) |access-date=20 March 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135720/https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Charles H. |title=The Territorial Management of Ethnic Conflict |date=2 August 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135764425 |editor=John Coakley |page=153 |chapter=Pakistan: Ethnic Diversity and Colonial Legacy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nEqRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA153 |access-date=20 March 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135718/https://books.google.com/books?id=nEqRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA153 |url-status=live }}</ref> Because their region was formerly a part of the [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|princely state]] of Jammu and Kashmir and is named after it, many Azad Kashmiris have adopted the "Kashmiri" identity, whereas in an ethnolinguistic context, the term "Kashmiri" would ordinarily refer to natives of the [[Kashmir Valley]] region.<ref name="Snedden2015">{{cite book |author=Christopher Snedden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris |date=15 September 2015 |publisher=Hurst |isbn=978-1-84904-622-0 |pages=21–24 |access-date=20 March 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135720/https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23 |url-status=live }}</ref> The population of Azad Kashmir has strong historical, cultural and linguistic affinities with the neighbouring populations of upper [[Punjab]] and [[Pothohar Plateau|Potohar]] region of Pakistan,<ref>{{Citation |last1=Jabeen |first1=Nazish |title=Consanguinity and Its Sociodemographic Differentials in Bhimber District, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan |date=June 2014 |journal=Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=301–313 |pmc=4216966 |pmid=25076667 |quote=Kashmiri population in the northeast of Pakistan has strong historical, cultural and linguistic affinities with the neighbouring populations of upper Punjab and Potohar region of Pakistan. |last2=Malik |first2=Sajid}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Ballard |first=Roger |title=Kashmir Crisis: View from Mirpur |date=2 March 1991 |url=https://casas.org.uk/papers/pdfpapers/kashmir.pdf |journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]] |volume=26 |number=9/10 |pages=513–517 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034904/http://casas.org.uk/papers/pdfpapers/kashmir.pdf |jstor=4397403 |quote="... they are best seen as forming the eastern and northern limits of the Potohari Punjabi culture which is otherwise characteristic of the upland parts of Rawalpindi and Jhelum Districts" |access-date=19 July 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas the [[Sudhans]] have the oral tradition of Pashtuns.<ref>{{cite book |author=Syed Ali |title=Strategic Coercion: Concepts and Cases |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-829349-6 |editor=Lawrence Freedman |page=253 |chapter=South Asia: The Perils of Covert Coercion |quote=Poonch at the time of partition was predominantly Muslim and the overwhelming majority of them were Sudhans, who were descendants of Pashtuns of Afghanistan, settled in the region some centuries ago.}}</ref>{{sfn|Snedden|2013|loc=p. 43: "Sudhans from Poonch considered themselves to be ''Sudho Zai'' Pathans (Pukhtoons), which explained why the [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] tribesmen from NWFP province lost no time coming to help Jammu and Kashmir's Muslims in 1947.."}}

The main communities living in this region are:<ref name="The Role of Biradaris">
{{harvnb|Snedden|2013|loc=Role of Biradaries (pp.&nbsp;128–133)}}
</ref>
* [[Gujjars]] – They are an agricultural tribe and are estimated to be the largest community living in the ten districts of Azad Kashmir.<ref name="The Role of Biradaris" /><ref name="Poonch Profile">{{cite web |url=http://www.erra.pk/Reports/KMC/RawlakotProfile200907.pdf |title=District Profile - Rawalakot/Poonch |publisher=Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority |date=July 2007 |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924001855/http://www.erra.pk/Reports/KMC/RawlakotProfile200907.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Bagh Profile">{{cite web |url=http://www.erra.pk/Reports/KMC/BaghProfile200907.pdf |title=District Profile - Bagh |publisher=Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority |date=June 2007 |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924001853/http://www.erra.pk/Reports/KMC/BaghProfile200907.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They are estimated to number around 800,000.<ref name="hrw.org">{{cite web |title="With Friends Like These...": Human Rights Violations in Azad Kashmir: II. Background |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/pakistan0906/3.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308175448/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/pakistan0906/3.htm |archive-date=8 March 2021 |access-date=14 June 2019 |publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref>
* [[Sudhans]] – (also known as Sadozai, Sardar) are the second largest tribe, inhabiting mainly the districts of [[Poonch district, Pakistan|Poonch]], [[Sudhanoti District|Sudhanoti]], [[Bagh District|Bagh]], and [[Kotli District|Kotli]] in Azad Kashmir. They allegedly originated from [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] areas.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=autVo01f2AsC|publisher=Columbia University Press|page=xix|first=Christopher|last=Snedden|year=2012|isbn=9780231800204|quote=Sudhan/Sudhozai – one of the main tribes of (southern) Poonch, allegedly originating from Pashtun areas.|access-date=12 June 2019|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135718/https://books.google.com/books?id=autVo01f2AsC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Role of Biradaris" /><ref name="Poonch Profile" /> Their population numbers over 500,000, and together with the Rajputs they are the source of most of Azad Kashmir's political class.<ref name="hrw.org"/>

* Jats – They are one of the larger communities of AJK and primarily inhabit the districts of Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli. A large [[British Mirpuris|Mirpuri]] population lives in the U.K. and it is estimated that more people of Mirpuri origins are now residing in the U.K. than in the Mirpur district, which retains strong ties with the U.K.<ref name="The Role of Biradaris" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Moss |first=Paul |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6178092.stm |title=South Asia &#124; The limits to integration |work=BBC News |date=30 November 2006 |access-date=5 June 2010 |archive-date=30 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830120420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6178092.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Mirpuri Jats number approximately 300 000.<ref name="hrw.org" />
* [[Rajput]]s – They are spread across the territory, and they number a little under 500,000. Together with the Sudhans, they are the source of most of Azad Kashmir's political class.<ref name="hrw.org"/>
* [[Mughal tribe|Mughals]] – Largely located in the [[Bagh, Azad Kashmir|Bagh]] and [[Muzaffarabad]] districts.<ref name="Bagh Profile" />
* [[Awan (tribe)|Awans]] – A clan with significant numbers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, living mainly in the [[Bagh District|Bagh]], [[Poonch District, Pakistan|Poonch]], Hattian Bala, and [[Muzaffarabad District|Muzaffarabad]]. Awans also reside in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in large numbers.<ref name="The Role of Biradaris" /><ref name="Poonch Profile" /><ref name="Bagh Profile" />
* [[Dhund (tribe)|Dhund]] – They are a large clan in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and live mostly in the [[Bagh District|Bagh]], [[Hattian Bala District|Hattian Bala]], and Muzaffarabad districts. They also inhabit Abbottabad and upper Potohar Punjab in large numbers.<ref name="The Role of Biradaris" /><ref name="Poonch Profile" /><ref name="Bagh Profile" />
* [[Kashmiris]] – Ethnic Kashmiri populations are found in the [[Neelam Valley]] and the [[Leepa Valley]] (see [[Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir]]).<ref name="Snedden 20152">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|title=Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris|last=Snedden|first=Christopher|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-84904-622-0|page=23|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117135720/https://books.google.com/books?id=a19eCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|url-status=live}}</ref>