Katoor dynasty

The Katoor dynasty (also spelled Katur and Kator) was a dynasty which, along with its collateral branches, ruled the Kingdom of Chitral and its neighbours in the eastern Hindu Kush region for over 450 years, from around 1570 until 1947. At the height of its power under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk, the territory controlled by the dynasty extended from Asmar in the Kunar Valley to Sher Qilla in the Gilgit Valley. The Mehtar of Chitral was an influential player in the power politics of the region as he acted as an intermediary between the rulers of Badakhshan, the Yousafzai Pashtuns, the Maharaja of Kashmir and later the Amir of Afghanistan.

Origins

The dynasty came to power in the 17th-century. During the course of 19th and 20th centuries, the Katoor rulers claimed or were held to have a number of contradictory origins, including descent from Alexander the Great or his Macedonian soldiers, descent from Timur, descent from Kamal Shams al-Din of Multan, and descent from a Khorasani adventurer, among others. However all of these claims lack attestation from contemporary sources and are considered implausible.

After a review of various claimed origins of the dynasty, Hidayat ur Rahman (2011) suggests the dynasty to have indigenous origin in the Hindu Kush region, and to be related to the Kator people of the neighbouring Bashgal Valley in Kafiristan (now Nuristan). He further points out to the close links of the dynasty with the Kator people and that during the wars with Rais dynasty, Katoor rulers frequently sought refuge with the Kators of Bashgal.

History

When the dynasty was first founded by Shah Katoor, his domains included lower Chitral, Kunar Valley, Lot-Kuh, Torkhow and Mulkhow regions of upper Chitral. Under Shah Katoor II, Mastuj and the Yasin Valley also came under Katoor domination. The Kati and Kom tribes of Kafiristan, tribes of Dir Kohistan, Swat Kohistan and Kalam paid a yearly tribute to the mehtar. Shah Katoor III invaded Wakhan in retaliation for a raid on Chitral from Wakhan, and forced the mir of Wakhan to pay tribute as well. In 1876, Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk conquered the Ghizer and Punial and laid siege to the Dogra garrison of the maharaja of Kashmir in the Gilgit fort. During this time the tribes of Darel, Tangir and Kandia and the state of Nagar also paid tribute to the mehtar of Chitral. The Katoor dynasty's influence reached its peak under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk, when territories of Ghizer, Yasin and Ishkoman were conquered in 1880.

Rulers

The rulers of the Kator dynasty with the date of their accession:

  1. Sangeen Ali (I) 1560
  2. Muhtarram Shah Kator (I) 1585
  3. Sangeen Ali (II) 1655
  4. Muhammad Ghulam 1691
  5. Shah Alam 1694
  6. Shah Muhammad Shafi 1696
  7. Shah Faramurd 1717
  8. Shah Afzal (I) 1724
  9. Shah Fazil 1754
  10. Shah Nawaz Khan 1757
  11. Shah Khairullah 1761
  12. Shah Muhtarram Shah Kator (II) 1788
  13. Shah Afzal (II) 1838
  14. Muhtarram Shah Kator (III) 1854
  15. Aman ul-Mulk 1856
  16. Afzal ul-Mulk 1892
  17. Sher Afzal 1892
  18. Nizam ul-Mulk 1892
  19. Amir ul-Mulk 1895
  20. Shuja ul-Mulk 1895
  21. Nasir ul-Mulk 1936
  22. Muzaffar ul-Mulk 1943
  23. Saif-ur-Rehman 1949
  24. Muhammad Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir 1954
  25. Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir 2011

Descendants

Mehtar Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir, the current head of the dynasty

The descendants of the Katoor dynasty are still respected and honoured in Chitral today. The last ruling mehtar, Muhammad Saif ul-Mulk Nasir was educated at Aitchison College. He had received Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953) and Pakistan Republic Medal (1956).

Politics

The family continues to be one of the strongest political families in the district, although it has not consistently aligned itself with any particular party in the district. Shahzada Mohiuddin, grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as the Minister of State for Tourism in the 1990s. He was twice elected as chairman of District Council Chitral, once as District Nazim, and four times as Member National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA). Shahzada Mohiuddin also served as chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA). The current head of the family, Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir, was elected to the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the 2024 provincial elections.

Notable members of the royal family

Mata ul-Mulk, one of the youngers son of Shuja ul-Mulk, served in the first Kashmir war. He is best known for defeating the Indian forces in Skardu commanding the Chitral Bodyguard, during the Siege of Skardu.

Burhan-ud-Din, another son of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as commander of the Indian National Army in Burma. He also served as a Senator after the World War II.

Colonel Khushwaqt ul-Mulk, one of the younger sons of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as the commandant of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) Rifles. He was educated at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (now the Rashtriya Indian Military College) at Dehradun, India. Following his father's death in 1936 he became the governor of Upper Chitral. He was a philanthropist and helped the Brooke Hospital for Animals, the British-based equine charity, to set up a centre in Pakistan. At the time of his death, he was the most senior surviving military officer of the Pakistan Army. His youngest son Sikander ul-Mulk has captained the Chitral Polo Team at Shandur for over two decades. His eldest son Siraj ul-Mulk has served in Pakistan Army and Pakistan International Airlines as a pilot.

Masood ul-Mulk, grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, is a Pakistani expert on humanitarian aid. He is the son of Khush Ahmed ul-Mulk, the last surviving son of Shuja ul-Mulk. Khush Ahmed ul-Mulk served in the British Indian Army. As of 2014 he was the most senior surviving member of Chitral's royal family.

Taimur Khusrow ul-Mulk, grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, and son of the daughter of the Nawab of Dir, served as a bureaucrat with the Federal Government of Pakistan and served as Accountant General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prior to his retirement in 2016.

Notes

  1. ↑ "The great-great-great-grandfather of Nāser al-Molk claimed that he was the descendant of Alexander the Great, and his grandfather claimed to be a descendent of Kamāl Shams al-Din of Multan. Nāser al-Molk’s father’s genealogy is linked with Bābor, while Nāser al-Molk himself traced his descent back to Faridun Hoseyn of Herat." (Rahman 2011, p. 222)
  2. ↑ "We have found that the Mughal sources are silent about the Timurid origin of the royal families of Chitral and Yasin, and that there is no evidence of their migration from Herat or from the regions held by the Mughals. The colonial sources, mostly based on oral reports from the Mehtars, also provide problematic genealogies. One of the earliest local sources, Mirzā Mohammad Siar’s Shāhnāma, has nothing to say on the topic. Other local historical sources, such as Ghofrān’s Mokhtasar and Tārikh-e Chetrār (Persian) and Mirzā Gholām Mortazā’s Nai tārikh-e Chetrāl, which fabricate a Timurid origin of the royal families of Chitral and Yasin and marriage ties with Raisa, provide contrasting details. Christopher Buyers, who in collaboration with members of the former royal family of Chitral developed a web site on the pedigree of the royal family of Chitral, also maintains that there is no evidence of the family’s relationship with the Timurids." (Rahman 2011, p. 227)
  3. ↑ "The geographical, traditional, oral and historical evidence proves that the Katur and Khushwakht families of Chitral and Yasin and the Katur or Katir tribe have the same origin." (Rahman 2011, p. 229)

References

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  2. ↑ Cacopardo, Alberto M.; Cacopardo, Augusto S. (1 January 2001). Gates of Peristan: history, religion and society in the Hindu Kush. IsIAO. p. 54. ISBN 978-88-6323-149-6. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Lines, Maureen (1996). The Kalasha people of North-Western Pakistan. Emjay Books International. p. 10. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. ↑ 1998 District Census Report of Chitral. Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Govt. of Pakistan. 1999. p. 22. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Rahman 2011, pp. 224–225
  6. ↑ Faizi, Inyatullah (1996). Wakhan, A Window Into Central Asia. p. 50.
  7. ↑ Ghufran, Mirza. Tareekh-e-Chitral.
  8. ↑ Chitral: A Study in Statecraft, 1320–1969. IUCN Pakistan, Sahrhad Programme. 2004. ISBN 9789698141691. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Brief History of Ex Mehter Chitral Prince Saif ul Mulk Nasir". Chitral Times. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Cutherell, Danny. "Governance and Militancy in Pakistan's Chitral district" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Future of five devolved PTDC motel employees uncertain". Chitral Today. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Familial glory: In Chitral and Swat, what's in a name?". The Express Tribune. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "MNA elected NA Committee Chairman". Chitral News. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Iftikhar Uddin". Election Pakistan 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Independent Candidate Fateh Ul Mulk Ali Nasir Wins PK-02 Election". Urdu Point. 9 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 June 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  16. 1 2 Chibber, Manohar Lal (1998). Pakistan's Criminal Folly in Kashmir: The Drama of Accession and Rescue of Ladakh. Manas Publications. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-7049-095-1.
  17. ↑ "Remembering Burhanuddin". Chitral News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Colonel Khushwaqt-ul-Mulk". The Telegraph. 17 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  19. ↑ "Shahzada Col (R) Khushwaqt ul-Mulk laid to rest in Mastuj". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Battle for the high ground: saving the polo festival at the world's highest pitch". 7 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  21. ↑ "Shandur Polo Match". The Guardian. 11 July 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  22. ↑ Chitral, Declan Walsh on how the 'Palin effect' is drawing tourists to (6 July 2005). "Few rules, no referee and the wildest polo anywhere as Pakistan towns battle it out". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  23. ↑ Khan, Rina Saeed (3 August 2015). "Chitral floods: Why melting glaciers may not be the cause". Dawn. Archived from the original on 30 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Pass, Declan Walsh Shandur (10 July 2009). "In the middle of war, a game of polo breaks out in Pakistan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  25. ↑ "Pakistani Relief Expert to Speak at Cambridge". University of Cambridge. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  26. ↑ Najib, Shireen (25 June 2013). My Life, My Stories. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 9781480900004.
  27. ↑ Bowersox, Gary W. (1 January 2004). The Gem Hunter: True Adventures of an American in Afghanistan. GeoVision, Inc. ISBN 9780974732312.
  28. ↑ "Punjab governor's PS removed -". The Express Tribune. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  29. ↑ APP (1 August 2015). "Accountability offices in Fata". Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2016.

Further reading