The Pa'O Self-Administered Zone (Burmese: ပအိုဝ်းကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရဒေသ [pəʔo̰ kòbàɪɰ̃ ʔoʊʔtɕʰoʊʔ kʰwɪ̰ɰ̃ja̰ dèθa̰]), also abbreviated as Pa'O SAZ, as stipulated by the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, is a self-administered zone consisting of three townships in Shan State. [2][3]
Pa-O Self-Administered Zone
ပအိုဝ်းကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရဒေသ
ပအိုဝ်ႏနမ်းပဲင်ႏအိုပ်ချုတ်ခွင်ꩻလꩻဒေႏသ | |
|---|---|
Headquarters of the Leading Body
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Flag | |
Location in Shan State
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| Country |  Myanmar |
| State | Shan State |
| No. of Townships | 3 |
| Capital | Hopong |
| Elevation | 1,079 m (3,541 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 380,427[1] |
| Demonym | Pa'O |
| Time zone | UTC+6.30 (MMT) |
Pa'O SAZ's official name was announced by decree on 20 August 2010.[4]
In the wake of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état and ensuing civil war, Pa'O youths, like many throughout the country, formed and joined resistance forces like the Pa-O National Defence Force, in opposition to military rule.[5][6]
On 24 February 2023, fighting began in Pinlaung Township, forcing more than 5,000 villagers to flee, including most villagers from Namneng.[7][8] On 11 March 2023, the village of Namneng became the site of the Pinlaung massacre, during which Myanmar Army troops killed at least 30 civilians, including 3 Buddhist monks.[9]
The zone is currently under the de facto control of the Pa-O National Organisation.
The Zone is divided into three townships:
The three townships are administratively part of Taunggyi District.
20°47′39″N 97°10′24″E / 20.79417°N 97.17333°E / 20.79417; 97.17333