Parwak, Feb 22, 2026: Work on the preparation of Didargah at Parwak was formally inaugurated today in connection with the expected visit of the 50th Imam of the Ismaili community, Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan V.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Deputy Commissioner Upper Chitral Muhammad Imran Khan as chief guest and performed the formal opening of the work.
District Police Officer Hameedullah, along with the President of the Ismaili Regional Council Imtiaz Alam, religious scholars, community elders, council representatives, and a large number of residents and Ismaili volunteers participated in the event.
Speaking on the occasion, the deputy commissioner said that the visit of Prince Rahim Aga Khan would be a significant and blessed occasion for his followers and would also help promote development activities in the area.
He assured the Ismaili community that the district administration and all relevant line departments would extend full cooperation to the Ismaili Council to ensure timely completion of the Didargah.
He further stated that he would personally take part as a volunteer in the preparation process and affirmed that Prince Rahim Aga Khan would be accorded a warm welcome upon his arrival in Upper Chitral.
Meanwhile, Ismaili volunteers from different areas of Upper Chitral, including remote Yarkhun, Torkhow and Laspur valleys, arrived at the site to participate in the preparation of the Didargah.
Sources in the Ismaili community told ChitraToday that the His Highness Prince Aga Khan was expected to visit Pakistan and meet his followers in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan in the first week of April 2026. The Ismailis are expected to have a glimpse of their Hazir Imam Noor Maulana Shah Rahim Al Hussain at two places in Chitral. in this regard, sites have been selected in Upper and Lower Chitral as Didargahs.
Parwak has been selected as the Didargah in Upper Chitral for the first time and this has been hailed as the most suitable and accessible one for the Jamat of Upper Chitral. In Lower Chitral, the Imam will meet his followers at the same private land in Garam Chashma where the 49th Imam Shah Karim had gave Didar in 2017.
A notable feature of the ceremony was the joint participation of the Sunni and Ismaili communities. Sunni scholars and elders expressed solidarity with the Ismaili community and pledged to continue their support side by side until the completion of the Didargah.
Speakers described the occasion as a shining example of inter-sect harmony and brotherhood in the region, where people from different schools of thought demonstrated mutual respect and unity in a practical way.
A similar show of harmony was witnessed during the Didar in 1917, when the Sunni community took active part in the preparation of the Didargah near Booni.
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