A man of few words but with deep insight and meticulous choice of words, that are pick of a great lawyer, the newly crowned Mehtar of Chitral, His Highness Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir, would have made a great ruler of the erstwhile Chitral state, had it not been abolished in 1969…..The raison d’être of this coronation, though symbolic, is to preserve the cultural tradition of Chitral with all its pluses and minuses, as you cannot remake history.
….On the second day of his stay in Garam Chashma the Mehtar visited the Jamia mosque and the mausoleum of the 11th century mystic and preacher Syedna Nasir-e-Khisraw, who first brought the message of Islam to Chitral from Central Asia via Durah Pass, thus making Garam Chashma as the gateway of Islam. A reception was hosted in his honour by the President of Aga Khan Local Council, Fazal Hamid, during which the Mehtar was briefed about the structure and role of the Council.The Mehtar appreciated the role of the Council and other institutions of His Highness, the Aga Khan in maintaining peace and communal harmony in the valley and for providing alternate grievance redressal system to his followers which was also availed by other communities for being cost effective and credible.
On the side lines of these meetings, the Mehtar agreed with suggestions to promote pluralism in Chitral. Instead of referring to each other by their sects and ethnicities we must focus on our being Chitralis, as it would strengthen our ownership of Chitral, promote unity as equal stake holders and discourage negativity. The Mehtar agreed to patronize cultural and educational programs and announced that he would restart his ancestor’s tradition of honouring Nasir-e-Khisraw’s by offering free meals to the poor at his mausoleum on the occasion of Pathak festival to mark successful culmination of the Chilla meditation of the saint whom he called as Lal-e-Badakhshan. The Mehtar was informed that articles in the use of Nasir-e-Khisraw needed preservation by constructing a museum and a proposal to that effect was pending with Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Later the Mehtar went to the dwelling place of the saint to pay his respects to the great saint and offered fateha.
Ismailimail 