Mirpur Azad Kashmir

Chowk Shaheedan, Mirpur Azad Kashmir Pakistan

Overview:

Mirpur is also known as New Mirpur City. Mirpur Division consist of three districts i-e Mirpur, Bhimber and Kotli. Inhabitants mostly speak their native language known as ‘Pothuware’ i-e the second most widely spoken language after “Kashmiri”. In the 2017 census, the city had a population slightly less than half a million. This city was established in order to build the Mangla Dam. The left overs of the old city can be found in the winter, when the water level becomes extremely low. While passing through “Mirpur Bypass” you will see the amazing scenery. It is a very safe and beautiful city of Azad Kashmir. Basic facilities like Education, Health, Law and Order, Sanitary, Road infrastructure are good compared to other cities in Azad Kashmir. From last few decades, the population of Mirpur has increased tremendously. There was a time in Mirpur, when people would get paid to live and take care of their house because they get permanent residency in England. They used to come to Mirpur once in a year for a vacation. Now-a-days it is very difficult for anyone to get a house on rent. As people from different cities of Pakistan migrated here for living. It goes through the process of modernization but the surroundings of Mirpur remained agricultural. The inhabitants migrated to Europe in the early 1960’s.  The is famous for a few things such as Mangla Dam i-e Pakistan’s biggest dam, shrines of Sufi saints known as Pira Shah Ghazi Qalandar Damri Wali Sarkar and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Stadium, Mangla Fort, Rohtas Fort and you will find beautiful bungalows and buildings in the city. It is also known as ‘’Mini England” because most of the people living in England are from Mirpur district and continuously going there. People from Punjab and tribble areas come here to live also. Residents are lazy. They don’t work hard usually because their family members living abroad support them through foreign remittances. It plays an important role in Pakistan’s economy. The quality of Education is very remarkable in Mirpur. Many renowned institutes have a presence here. Furthermore, students from FATA, Gilgit Baltistan and Punjab come here for higher education. Because of this, the number of hostel is continuously increasing. Mirpur University of Science and Technology MUST is the best university of Azad Kashmir which was established in 2009.

New City:

New city was an extension project on New Mirpur City. It was established after Mangla rising project. After that, Mangla Dam became the biggest dam of Pakistan. The infrastructure in new city is decent. Schools, Hospital, Roads, Sanitary system and planning was very organized.  

Hotels:

Hotels and restaurants can be found all around the city. Recently, a luxury hotel “Pearl Continental” is constructing their biggest branch in Mirpur city. There are more than 15 marriage halls in the city and the numbers are still increasing. Furthermore, there are some international food chains in Mirpur like Nafees, Dixy Chicken, Chicken Cottage, Mega Bite, Mr Chicken, HFC and many more local restaurants.

Parks:

Jari-Kas Park is a good place to visit with your family. There are some nice rides like horse riding, Rock-O-Plane, Bumper cars, Carousel, Swing boat ride, Go Kart, Dirt ATV and many more. View point is also another government park. You will have a nice view of Mirpur city but there are two or three rides for children to have fun. Recently, government build one more park known as Asifa Bhutto. It has vast area and beautiful scenery of Mangla Dam and the city. A private company provide some rides for entertainment. These are some great places to spend a leisure time with your family.

Transportation:

In recent decades, the traffic has increased surprisingly. Almost every household owns a bike and car. Rickshaws are in great numbers. They are usually used for transportation within Mirpur. The public transportation system is decent. Special route vans travel to different cities on a daily basis.   

Industries:

Banking sector is continuously progressing day by day. Inhabitants of Mirpur are mostly rich so they save their money by bank deposit or investing in real estate, which is why property rates are very high in this town. Pool of funds are available here but Residents of Mirpur don’t invest in industries or businesses. They likely to prefer building a large bungalow or huge building for rent from which they get steady income for the rest of their life. Azad Kashmir has flexible tax regulations. For that reason, a number of industries are operating in Mirpur such as China Motorcycle Companies, Foam Companies, Marble Companies, Spices and few pharmaceutical companies. Recently, Pakistan’s smartphone brand ‘Q Mobile’ is planning to start their operations from Bhimber and Mirpur, Azad Kashmir.