Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir ('Free Jammu and Kashmir') is a Pakistan-administered territory covering 13,297 km² in the southwestern portion of the disputed Kashmir region. The UN and international organizations classify both AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan as 'Pakistan-administered Kashmir,' a territory whose final status remains subject to UN resolutions calling for bilateral resolution between India and Pakistan. With Muzaffarabad as its capital, AJK maintains its own elected legislature and president, though foreign affairs, defense, and currency remain under Pakistani federal control. The territory's 4+ million residents elect representatives to both local and AJK legislative assemblies, distinguishing its governance from neighboring Gilgit-Baltistan. The 2005 Kashmir earthquake devastated AJK, killing over 73,000 people—a catastrophe that reshaped infrastructure investment and disaster preparedness across the region. AJK's economy relies on agriculture, remittances from diaspora communities, and small-scale manufacturing, with tourism potential constrained by security considerations and border tensions. The territory's status—neither a province nor truly autonomous—reflects the frozen politics of the broader Kashmir dispute.