CHITRAL, Oct 18: The last ruler of Chitral state, Saiful Mulk Nasir, died in a hospital of the federal capital on Tuesday morning after a brief illness. He was 61.

The last ruler of Katoor dynasty (1570-1969) of the former state was born in 1950. He succeeded his father Saifur Rahman, who died in a plane crash in 1954. As he was only four years of age at the time, the affairs of the state were run by a regency council.

Mr Nasir was sent to Atchison College Lahore for education. He had hardly completed his education when the state of Chitral was merged into Pakistan by the then chief martial law administrator Gen Yahya Khan.

Locals said that Mr Nasir was a ruler, who did not enjoy power and authority even for a single day. “He was a kind hearted and pious person who did not like pomp and show and loved simplicity and privacy,” said Dr Inayatullah Faizi, a local intellectual.

After the annexation of the Chitral state, he was inducted into Foreign Service of Pakistan. He served on various diplomatic posts and retired in 1989 as consul general of Pakistan in Hong Kong.

After retirement, he confined himself to his residence in Islamabad and the fort of Chitral where he used to come in the summer season. He always distanced himself from the public and never indulged in politics.

The last ruler of Chitral had married the daughter of Nawab of Amb state. He has left behind two sons and two daughters to mourn his death.

He will be laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in the northern corner of Chitral Fort on Wednesday. “He was the last ruler of any state in the country,” locals said. — Correspondent