Congratulations Chitral

Report Junaid Saleh Hayat CHITRAL, may 26: On May 24, the coronation of the Mehtar (ruler) Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir was celebrated with full pomp and show. Although the ceremony was symbolic just to keep on the hundreds of years old traditions of Chitral, yet it revived the splendour of the past. [caption id="attachment_2155" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="This event came after 58 years"][/caption] About 5,000 people of all age, from all walks of life, from across Chitral, belonging to all political and tribal backgrounds attended the ceremony held at Royal Gardens next to Chitral Fort. People from Yarkhun, Laspur, Torkhow, Mulkhow, Lotkuh, Dros, Arandu, Bumburet and all other valleys of Chitral had gathered to celebrate the historic event. Of them, the DCO Chitral Rehmatullah Wazir, MNA Shahzada Muhiuddin, Maj G.D. Langlands, Prof. Inayatullah Faizi, Prof. Israruddin, Prof. Mir Afzal Tajik and many other notables representing different communities, tribes and all areas attended the gathering. Moreover, many dignitaries including ambassadors of Brunei, Philippines and Myanmar, and Provincial Minister Haji Hidayatullah representing the government of KP, and Nawab and ex-MNA of Amb Salahuddin Sayed, Raja of Yasin Chief Justice of GB High Court Raja Jalaluddin and various other officials were present to glorify the coronation ceremony. Federal Minister for Saffron, Governor GB and some other guests from ex-princely states who had confirmed to attend the event could not make it out of their busy schedule. However, they conveyed their feelings through words of gratitude. The ceremony started at around 10am with recitation of the Holy Qur’an, then according to traditions, Pir Syed Zaheeruddin Al-Gillani and Qari Shabbir Ahmad of Shahi Mosque put the royal crown on the new Mehtar of Chitral. On seeing their new Mehtar enthroned, a wave of happiness spread among the guests and the whole crowd clapped altogether to express their allegiance to their new Mehtar. After that, the Mehtar addressed the audience himself. He thanked them for travelling all the way to attend the ceremony and also all those whose efforts made the event successful, in particular the district administration of Chitral. He promised the people to live up to their expectations. After the Mehtar’s speech, speakers representing all valleys of Chitral stated their happiness and congratulated their new Mehtar. The speakers addressed the Mehtar and told him what the people expect from him and how he should lead his people towards the development of Chitral in social, cultural, and all other sectors in whatever possible way he can that would definitely benefit the whole country at a time when its image has been stained by storm and stress. They put forward their valuable advice on how to keep up the long-ago traditions and culture of Chitral that is based upon love, peace, tolerance and hospitality and set an example for all the people of the world! This session continued till around 1:30. Then food was served for all the guests, followed by a musical program at about 2:30 to 4pm. Then the Mehtar along with thousands of people proceeded towards the polo ground to see the polo matches between local teams and distributed prize money among all the teams. With this, the grand and memorable event ended and everybody went off with a smile on their face! Now I would like to conclude it with my heartiest congratulations to our new Mehtar and especially loads of congratulations to all the people of Chitral for keeping alive their culture even in this era when indigenous cultures are in danger. We also thank government of Pakistan for supporting us in this regard and we hope our government will continue its support forever!]]>