The Neelam Valley (also spelt Neelum; Urdu: وادیِ نیلم ), is the northernmost region and district of Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. The district has a population of 191,251 according to the 2017 Census.[1] The district was badly affected by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
The Neelam River was known before Partition as Kishan Ganga and was subsequently renamed after the village of Neelam.[3] It flows down from the Gurez Valley in Indian Jammu and Kashmir and roughly follows first a western and then a south-western course until it joins the Jhelum River at Muzaffarabad. The valley is a thickly wooded region with an elevation ranging between 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and 7,500 feet (2,300 m), the mountain peaks on either side reaching 17,000 feet (5,200 m).
Neelam District (Urdu: ضلع نیلم) is bordered on the south-west by Muzaffarabad District, which also encompasses the lower reaches of the valley, to the north-west beyond the mountains lies the Kaghan Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mansehra District, to the north and north-east are the Diamer, Astore and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. To the south and east are the Kupwara and Bandipora districts of Indian Kahsmir. The Line of Control runs through the valley – either across the mountains to the south-east, or in places right along the river, with several villages on the left bank of the river falling on the Indian side of the border.
**Languages **
It is the northernmost district of Azad Kashmir. A variety of languages are spoken in the district. Kashmiri however, is the predominant language and is spoken mostly in the west, east, northeast and southwest towards the border with Muzzafarabad and NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Shina and Kashmiri are the predominant languages spoken in the northeastern part of the district towards the border with Baramulla, Gurez, Bandipore, Astore District and Baltistan and also in the far north on the border with Diamer District. Pashto is also spoken in a few villages on the Line of Control with Kupwara. Other languages include Gojri and the endangered Kundal Shahi, which is an archaic form of Shina that has been heavily influenced by Kashmiri and Hindko. It is spoken in a single village near Athmuqam and is under threat: if the current situation of language loss continues unabated, it is estimated that the language will disappear in the near future.
Sourece:
Wikipedia
