Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Urdu: آزاد جموں و کشمیر‎ Āzād Jammū̃ o Kaśmīr, translation: Free Jammu and Kashmir[2]), abbreviated as AJK and commonly known as Azad Kashmir, is a nominally self-governing[1][2] jurisdiction administered by Pakistan. The territory lies west of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, and was part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Azad Kashmir is part of the greater Kashmir region, which is the subject of a long-running conflict between Pakistan and India. The territory shares a border with Gilgit-Baltistan, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations and other international organisations as "Pakistan administered Kashmir".[note 1] Azad Kashmir is one-sixth of the size of Gilgit-Baltistan.[10] The territory also borders Pakistan's Punjab province to the south and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the west. To the east, Azad Kashmir is separated from the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan. Azad Kashmir has a total area of 13,297 square kilometres (5,134 sq mi), and a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 Census