PESHAWAR: Shahzada Mohiuddin, a scion of royal family of Chitral and a former MNA, passed away in the wee hours on Wednesday.

Mr Mohiuddin was born on August 5, 1938, to Shahzada Amiruddin – a son of Sir Shujaul Mulk – the Mehtar of Chitral, who ruled the princely state from 1895 to 1936. Born in an era when his family ruled the princely state, Shahzada Mohiuddin saw first-hand the erosion of that power. Even as a young boy he would often contemplate the reasons for the fading influence of his family and how to salvage it.

By 1969, after years of regression at the local level, and wider political developments, the state of Chitral was dissolved and merged into Pakistan.

In the next few years, the government of then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto further estranged the royal families of the frontier states of Dir, Swat and Chitral by stripping them of their titles, privileges and honorarium. Simultaneously, a land reforms commission was constituted, the task of which, according to Sheikh Mohammad Rashid, its chairman, was to “take from the haves and give to the have-nots”.

Suffice to say that after 30 years of litigation, Shahzada Mohiuddin succeeded in having the Supreme Court declare that he was the owner of vast tracts of properties being claimed by him to the exclusion of thousands of adverse claimants.

In the face of such adversity and hostility, Shahzada Mohiuddin had resolved that he would fight for his individual rights, as well as the rights of the rest of the Chitrali community, which had been left marginalised after merger with Pakistan.

Such was the charisma, character and talent of the man that he managed to forge alliances and win over sufficient supporters to get himself elected as the district council chairman of Chitral in 1983.

By that time it was clear he was a man, not just willing to fight for his individual rights but the rights of the Chitrali community as a whole. He was elected MNA from Chitral in1985. He was tipped by military ruler Gen retired Ziaul Haq to serve as minister of defence, but owing to his public confrontation of the president at Shandur in 1986 over unfavourable recruitment process in the Chitral Scouts, he was bypassed, though he was appointed parliamentary secretary for communications.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2022