From the end of seventeenth century up to 1837 CE, Poonch was ruled by the Muslim Rajas of Loran in Tehsil Haveli. It then fell into the hands of Raja Faiztalab Punjab Government. Poonch was included in the transfer of the hilly country to Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in 1848. Before this transfer, Poonch was considered a district of Lahore. Maharaja Gulab Singh granted Chibal, Poonch and other areas to Jawahar Singh and Moiti Singh. The Raja of Poonch had to present to the Maharaja one horse with gold trappings. The Raja of Poonch was not to effect any administrative changes in the territory of Poonch without prior consultation with the Maharaja of Kashmir.
Separation of Poonch
After independence in 1947, there was a rebellion in the western part of the-then Poonch District. The rebels led by Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, sought support from the Dominion of Pakistan, which provided arms and then launched an invasion of its own, using Pashtun tribals. In response, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir joined India, and the conflict turned into an Indo-Pakistani War. When a ceasefire was effected, the Poonch district was split across the two countries. The former capital city, Poonch, came under the Indian Poonch district. A new capital at Rawalakot was eventually established by Pakistan. Of the four tehsils of the original Poonch district, viz., Bagh, Sudhnoti, Haveli, and Mendhar, the Pakistani Poonch Division included the first two and a portion of the third. All three tehsils were eventually made separate districts, and the new Poonch district was constituted in the centre of the Division by taking portions of the Bagh and Sudhnoti tehsils.
Administrative divisions
The district is administratively subdivided into 4 tehsils:
Abbaspur Tehsil
Rawalakot Tehsil
Hajira Tehsil
Thorar Tehsil
Education
According to Pakistan District Education Ranking 2017, a report released by Alif Ailaan, the district of Poonch is ranked at number 8 nationally, with an education score of 73.52. Poonch is the most improved district in terms of middle schools over the past 5 years. The learning score of Poonch is 84.15. The school infrastructure score of district Poonch is 14.88, ranking the district at number 151, which places it in the bottom five districts in all of Pakistan relating to infrastructure. Schools in Poonch also have severe electricity problems, drinking water and boundary wall problems reflecting in their score of 2.67, 12.1 and 6.23 respectively. The state of building of some schools are also a major safety risk for the students.
Transport
A bus across the LOC, the Poonch-Rawalakot bus has helped to re-establish ties across the border.
