| Native Name Lang: | Pahari |
| Rawalakot | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Coordinates: | 33.8533°N 73.7514°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Azad Kashmir |
| Subdivision Type: | Administering country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Administrative Territory |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Poonch District |
| Population Total: | 56,006 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Est: | 56,590 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2018 |
| Elevation M: | 1,638 |
| Population Density Km2: | 375 |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Number of towns |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 3 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Number of Union councils |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 21 |
| Area Code: | 0092 |
| Area Code Type: | 05824 |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Urdu[1] [2] [3] |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Spoken |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
Rawalakot (Urdu: {{Nastaliq|راولا کوٹ ) is the capital of Poonch district in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range.[4]
See main article: 1947 Poonch rebellion. On 15 June 1947, Sardar Ibrahim Khan addressed a meeting in Rawalakot attended by 20,000 people, and gave a speech telling his audience that Pakistan, a Muslim state, was coming into being and the people of Jammu and Kashmir could not remain unaffected. After that day, he says, "a strange atmosphere took the place of the usually peaceful life in these parts". On 22 June, Chaudhary Hamidullah, the acting president of the Muslim Conference, visited Rawalakot and initiated secret plans to organise the ex-servicemen of the district for an eventual confrontation with the Dogra State Forces. On or around 6 October, the armed rebellion started in the Poonch district. The fighting elements consisted of "bands of deserters from the State Army, serving soldiers of the Pakistan Army on leave, ex-servicemen, and other volunteers who had risen spontaneously." The rebels quickly gained control of almost the entire Poonch district, including Rawalakot.
See main article: 1955 Poonch uprising. Along with Pallandri, Rawalakot was the focal point of the 1955 Poonch uprising. It was led by the local Sudhans who disapproved of Sher Ahmed Khan and wanted Sardar Ibrahim Khan, as well as democratic reforms.[5]
See main article: 2005 Kashmir earthquake. On Saturday, 8 October 2005[6] a 7.6 magnitude earthquake killed 73,338 people and left up to three million homeless in Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir. The city of Rawalakot, the capital of the Poonch district, suffered significant damage from the 2005 earthquake; although most of the buildings were left standing, many of them were rendered uninhabitable, and some of the population was left homeless. Most of the buildings have been reconstructed.
Rawalakot is located at Latitude 33°51'32.18"N, Longitude 73° 45'34.93"E and an Elevation of 5374 feet. Rawalakot is approximately 76km (47miles) from Kahuta and about 120km (80miles) from the city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is linked with Rawalpindi and Islamabad via Goyain Nala and Tain roads. Via Kotli Satiyan and Kahuta. It is also linked with Rawalpindi via Sudhnuti.[7]
Construction of the Ghazi-e-Millat road (also known as Guoien Nala road) between Rawalakot and Azad Pattan has considerably reduced travel time, it is main road which is connecting Islamabad/Rawalpindi to Rawalakot city.
The road passing through Pakgali-Paniola connects Rawalakot to Bagh, Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad. The alternative road that passes through Mohri Farman Shah, Shuja Abad is the shortest possible road link that connects Rawalakot city with Bagh. Murree, Islamabad and Rawalpindi are situated in a southward direction from Rawalakot. The town has another road link with Kotli.[8]
Rawalakot Airport is non-operational and it has been closed since October 2005.[9]
Rawalakot features a subtropical highland climate under the Köppen climate classification due to high altitude. The weather of Rawalakot is quite erratic. However, the climate of Rawalakot can be divided into four seasons, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter. Rawalakot has mild to warm temperatures during the spring and autumn, humid temperatures during the summer and cold to snowy during the winter. The temperature can rise as high as 380NaN0 during the mid-summer months and drop below -10NaN0 during the winter months. Snowfall occurs in December and January, while most rainfall occurs during the monsoon season stretching from July to September.[10]
Rawalakot has an urban population of 56,006 people according to the 2017 census which rose to 56,590 in 2018. Majority of Rawalakot’s population is ethnically Sudhan.
On p. 29, the census report states that Urdu is the official language of the government of Azad Kashmir, with Kashmiri, Pahari, Gojri, Punjabi, Kohistani, Pushto, and Sheena 'frequently spoken in Azad Kashmir'. Yet, when surveyed about their 'mother tongue', Azad Kashmiris' choices were limited to selecting from Pakistan's major languages: Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, Saraiki, and 'others'; not surprisingly, 2.18 million of Azad Kashmir's 2.97 million people chose 'others'.