Kotli

Kotli کوٹلی Cotly
City (town)
Emblem
Kotli Location within Pakistan
Coordinates: 33°30′20″N 73°53′57″E / 33.50556°N 73.89917°E / 33.50556; 73.89917Coordinates: 33°30′20″N 73°53′57″E / 33.50556°N 73.89917°E / 33.50556; 73.89917
Country	Pakistan
District	Kotli
Constructed	Mid 15th Century
Union Council	18 UC (District Govt. system yet to be placed)
Government
• Chief Commissioner
Area
• Total	1,862 km2 (719 sq mi)
Highest elevation	3,000 m (10,000 ft)
Population (2014)
• Total	21,462
• Density	12/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Postal Code	11100
Area code(s)	0092-58264
Website	District Website

Kotli (Urdu: کوٹلی‎) or Cotly, as known in Britain, is the chief town of Kotli District, in the Azad Kashmir. Kotli is linked with Mirpur by two metalled roads, one via Rajdhani, (90 km) and the other via Charhoi. It is also directly linked with Rawalakot via Trarkhal (82 km) and a double road which links Kotli with the rest of Pakistan via Sehnsa, another major town in Azad Kashmir. Kotli is roughly a three hours drive from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, at a distance of 117 km via Sehnsa.

As stated in History of the Punjab Hill States by J.Hutchinson and J.P. Vogel: "Kotli was founded about the fifteenth century by a branch of the royal family of Raja Mangar Pal . Kotli and Poonch remained independent until subdued by Ranjit Singh in 1815 and 1819 respectively."

The royal family of Hutchinson and Vogel are referring to is the family of Raja Mangar Pal. Before its name was Kohtali mean (under mountain) after that people changed its name to Kotli. Kotli is the largest district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

In November 1947, the Indian Army reached Kotli and evacuated the garrisons of the town. The Pakistani Army along with the local population and aided by the tribesmen of the North West Frontier Province arrived and counter-attacked, forcing the Indian Army to abandon it. Kotli has been under Pakistani administration since.

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Wikipedia