Chakswari
Chakswari (Urdu: تحصیل چکسواری) is a town in the Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir, containing about 25 villages including the New Town of Islaamgarh, about 20 km from Mirpur city. It is quickly becoming a commercial area of the district.
Chakswari | |
|---|---|
  Chakswari | |
| Coordinates: 33.15°N 73.46°E | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Azad Kashmir |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Azam Chaudhry |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Raja Rahman |
| Population | |
| • Estimate () | 20,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Number of Union councils | 25 |
The majority of the people speak Pahari (also known as Pothwari or Mirpuri). A large number of people emigrated to the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1980s.
Geography
Chakswari has plains and hills. It has a generally dry climate, with hot summers and cool winters. There is not much rain. The people of this area are agriculturalists belonging to the Jatt, Rajput & Moochi castes, with strong cultural links to the Pothohar Plateau region of Pakistan.
Settlements
Chakswari is divided into two parts. There is the historic old town which houses the majority of the wholesale shops for which the town is known and the newer part. It is called Chakswari Colony and was built for the families who lost their homes following the construction of Mangla Dam. The town is modern and around twenty thousand people live there. Chakswari boasts the biggest house-building boom after Mirpur. Chakswari is known for its excellent shopping areas and its large shopping plazas where most of the wholesale shops are. There are many stores, plazas, shopping malls & markets in these areas, and they are known for their different types of items sold there. There is also a main bazaar built recently for Chakswari known as Navi Bazaar (lit. New Market in Pahari).
Buildings
Chakswari is well known for the existence of The Holy Pir. It is most commonly known as Noshahi Pir who were part of the Muhammad family tree. The Noshahi Haji Pir Ganj Baksh tomb is in Ralmal Sharif in Gujrat. In the '90s, they were known for helping the people of Chakswari with things like poverty. It is one of the most famous Sufi shrines in the region. Chakswari also has lots of mosques, the main one being the Jamia Masjid located in the town. There are other mosques too such as the Jamia-e-Haydar Masjid or Ghazi Hasan Masjid which owes its name to the 15th century Muslim warrior in the region, Raja Ghazi Hasan Khan.