After the departure of the British in August 1947, the tribesmen of Poonch rebelled, inviting Pakistani assistance and giving rise to the First Kashmir War.

Near the Poonch Town, it is joined by Betar Nala, which flows down from the northern part of the Haveli tehsil.

The Pir Panjal Pass, in the southeastern corner of the district, represented a key travel route into the Kashmir Valley during the Mughal times.

[9] At the time of Xuanzang's visit, the Kashmir Valley controlled all the territories adjacent to it in the south and the west, including Taxila, which is said to have been subjugated at a recent date.

According to Rajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch gave a formidable resistance to Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded the region in 1020.

Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).

During his second visit to Kashmir in 1592, Akbar had come through the Haji Pir Pass along with Jahangir (then Prince Salim), at which time Rathore had impressed them with his hospitality.

[citation needed] Under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Durrani Afghans conquered Kashmir, taking advantage of the declining Mughal Empire.

They ruled the region until 1819, when the Sikh Empire routed them from the Kashmir Valley, and annexed parts of Poonch (eastern half).

[18] Dhyan Singh spent most of his time in Lahore, subsequently becoming the wajir (prime minister) in the Sikh court.

Though the rebels captured the majority of Poonch, after Gulab Singh returned from his campaign against the Yusufzai, he was able to incite treachery within the rebellion.

Gulab Singh's forces caused devastation and massacres within captured rebel territory, due to which he faced controversy, particularly by the British, and obtained the reputation of a tyrant.

[23] Poonch was confiscated by the Sikh Durbar on the grounds that the Rajas had rebelled against the state and handed it over to Faiz Talib Khan of Rajouri.

[24] After the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) and the subsequent Treaties of Lahore and Amritsar, the entire territory between the Beas and the Indus rivers was transferred to Gulab Singh, including Poonch.

They put forward a claim to being independent rulers of Poonch, maintaining that they were entitled to a share in the 'family property' of all the territories controlled by Gulab Singh.

The matter was adjudicated by Sir Frederick Currie, the British Resident in Lahore, in 1852, who confirmed that Gulab Singh was indeed their suzerain.

The brothers were to give the Maharaja Gulab Singh a horse with gold trappings every year and consult him on all matters of importance.

The Resident stated that the order of 1928, eventually based on Currie's original award, definitely settled the status of Poonch as a 'subordinate Jagirdar of Kashmir'.

By 1945, the Maharaja's administration was deeply unpopular in Poonch, especially among the families of military servicemen, who contrasted it with that of their counterparts in Punjab.

Whereas proprietary rights were granted to landholders elsewhere in Kashmir following the Glancy Commission recommendations in 1933, the Poonchis did not benefit from the reforms due to the jagir's autonomy.

[35] After 1928, Maharaja Hari Singh started encroaching on the administration of Poonch and, a dual system of rule was established.

[37] Scholar Christopher Snedden states that, being a mountainous area, Poonch accorded small farms with poor soil, but had high costs of living.

During World War I, 31,000 men from Jammu and Kashmir served in the army, a great majority of them from Poonch.

The physical proximity of Poonch to the military recruiting grounds in Punjab, such as Sialkot and Rawalpindi, facilitated their enrolment.

The rebels led by Sardar Ibrahim Khan, sought support from the Dominion of Pakistan, which provided arms, and then launched an invasion of its own using Pashtun tribals.