Remembering real estate icon Sultan Wali

Zulfiqar Ahmad

ISLAMABAD: Born in the remote, rugged village of Yarkhun Lasht, untouched by modern life, Sultan Wali’s rise to prominence reads like a story of sheer grit and determination.

Sultan Wali died in Islamabad on June 27, 2025. From a humble water carrier with no formal education or connections, he transformed himself into a visionary real estate pioneer in Islamabad. His journey wasn’t just about personal success, it was about lifting entire communities from the harsh mountains to the thriving urban landscape, turning forgotten laborers into proud homeowners and building a legacy that reshaped lives and cities alike.

He arrived in Islamabad in the early 1970s: a scrappy Yarkhunik boy with empty pockets, no connections and an unstoppable work ethic.

His first job was carrying water buckets as a mashki at the Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTBL) construction site. Hard hats, harder days, toughest nights and every rupee he earned went straight back to his family in the mountains.
He laid bricks, poured concrete and earned something no money could buy: a reputation for honesty in a city where deals are often slippery.

Then came a twist. One day, a man could not pay him in cash – so he handed over a piece of land instead. Most would have walked away. Sultan Wali didn’t. He took the deal. Years later, that forgotten patch of dirt turned out to be a goldmine. That one break launched him into real estate. But unlike most who find fortune, he did not hoard it – he reached back.

He brought his brethren from the hard-bitten hills of Chitral and Gilgit. First a few. Then dozens. Then hundreds. Men who once hauled bricks were now signing deeds. Shovels turned into signatures. Day labourers became landowners. Tenements became titles. He did not just show them how to make it in the city, he showed them how to do it without selling out.

“He showed us the city from the village…he never cheated anyone,” said Shapeer Khan, a retired school headmaster from Dizg village, now a proud homeowner in one of Sultan Wali’s housing societies. “We weren’t his clients. We were his family.”
Sultan Wali did not just sell homes; he built futures. Thousands of families from Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan now call Rawalpindi and Islamabad home. Many more have put down roots in Peshawar, the northern areas, even deep into Chitral. All because of him.

He did not crank out cookie-cutter housing. He built neighborhoods, grounded in mountain values: trust, dignity, and education.

Kids who once walked barefoot to school now ride vans to elite academies. Men who once earned by the day now speak in mortgages and master’s degrees.
The World Bank says 7 in 10 people will live in cities by 2050. But for millions, urban life is still a locked door. Sultan Wali kicked that door open.
He saw land where others saw wasteland. He saw potential in people nobody noticed. His housing societies were not gated for the elite. They were sanctuaries for the forgotten Chitralis and Gilgitis. The overlooked and underestimated. And suddenly, they had addresses in the capital.
This was not just real estate – it was revolution. Sultan Wali did not ride the urban wave rather steered it. He gave identity, ownership and pride to a generation that could have easily been lost in the sprawl.
Today, those same mountain migrants live in solid homes, raise educated children, and dream bigger because of one man’s vision. He did not just change lives. He changed the map.
Sultan Wali is gone, but his imprint is everywhere: in the streets he built, in the homes that glow with laughter, in the lives that went from survival to success.
He started with nothing. But he built everything. And now, as Rawalpindi and Islamabad buzz with life, the mountain man who made it possible rests in peace.

May his soul rest in eternal peace!