A brief history of Sheikh Shah Wali Baba

Dur Wali Khan

According to the available family tree and genealogy written in Persian by Haziyar Ataliq of Ghizer in the beginning of 18th century, Sheikh Shah Wali Baba is the direct descendant of Hazrat Kaka Sahib of Nowshera. In the website of Hazrat Kaka Sahib, it has also been mentioned that the descendants of Hazrat Kaka Sahib are settled in Ghizer and Chitral districts as well.

Najima Susumo in her research book “Diversity of Lineages in Ghizer (1993-95), a famous writer and Khowar poet Javed Hayat Kakakhel Ghizer in his poetry books Gurzan (2019) and Hayato Arzo (2022), have also mentioned that Sheikh Shah Wali Baba is the descendant of Hazrat Kaka Sahib.

According to our orally transmitted family history, the father of Sheikh Shah Wali Baba was a single son of his parents, who migrated from Nowshera to Swat and settled in Malakand Agency permanently. Later on, Sheikh Shah Wali Baba migrated from Malakand Agency to Ghizer many centuries ago and settled at Golaghmuri permanently. It means that Sheikh Shah Wali Baba is the descendant of Sheikh Ahmad Gul Baba bin Sheikh Muhammad Gul Baba, who was a single son of his parents and settled at Kot Manzaree Maland Agency.

According to orally transmitted information of our forefathers and Peer Syed Mir Hussain Shah of Booni, a descendant of Hazrat Zinda Peer (Shah Muhammad Rizai Wali), our forefather Sheikh Shah Wali Baba had got married with Syeda Rakhum Bibi daughter/sister of Syed Shah Latif, a descendant of Hazrat Zinda Peer Sonoghur Chitral.

According to available documents/family history, Hazrat Sheikh Shah Wali Baba had two sons namely Syed Kon Baba and Syed Zikon Baba. The Mehtar Gilgit-Baltistan Shah Rais granted a huge land in Golaghmuli to Syed Kon Baba and Syed Zikon Baba as the Mehtar was father in law of Hazrat Zinda Peer Sonoghur Chitral and had a great love and respect for the descendants of Hazrat Zinda Peer. The majority of descendants of Sheikh Shah Wali Baba are still settled in Golaghmuli.

Later on, two families of Syed Zikon Baba migrated from Golaghmuli to Laspur Chitral and settled at Balim and Gasht permanently. A few families of Syed Zikon Baba also migrated from Handarap Ghizer to Swat and settled at Matiltan permanently. The descendants of both Syed Kon Baba and Syed Zikon Baba have spread throughout Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of the Country.

It is worth mentioning here that during the rule of Shah Khairullah Mehtar, Mir Haya, a descendant of Syed Kon Baba, was Hakim of Ghizer and Muhammad Ayaz, a descendant of Syed Zikon Baba (my forefather) from Balim Laspur, was a Hakim in Chitral. Mehtar was the ruler of the state while governors and Hakims looked after the administrative affairs of the state.