Mir Jamal Khan I of Hunza (September 23, 1912 – March 18, 1976) was the last

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of the State of the Kingdom of Hunza.

Early life

The son and heir of Mir Ghazan Khan

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, heir to the throne of Hunza, Muhammad Jamal Khan was born in 1912 and educated in Gilgit, mostly at home. For most of his youth Hunza was ruled by his grandfather, Sir Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan, KCSI KCIE, who ruled the state for 79 years, dying in 1938. His father, Ghazan Khan, succeeded as Mir in 1938, when Jamal became the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

. ''Memoranda on the Indian States'' (1939), p. 169: “Mir Sir Muhammad Nazim Khan was created a K.C.I.E. in June 1921 and K.C.S.I. in May 1937 on the occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty King George VI”

Reign

In April, 1945 at the age of 33, Jamal succeeded his father. In August 1947, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

withdrew from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, partitioning their possessions between India and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and leaving the princely states independent. Jamal visited

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

in the hope of persuading

Hari Singh Hari Singh Bahadur (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir of the Dogra dynasty. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's deat ...

, the Maharaja of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, to accede his state to the new

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

. In October 1947, Jamal acceded his own state of Hunza to Pakistan. He joined in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 over Jammu and Kashmir and was rewarded with the title of ''Ghazi-e-Millat''. In 1951,

Aga Khan IV Prince Karim al-Husseini (13 December 1936 – 4 February 2025), known as the Aga Khan IV, was the 49th Imamah, imam of Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Nizari Isma'ilism from 1957 until his death in 2025. He inherited the Imamate in Nizari doctrine ...

formed 64 local councils in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and appointed Jamal as President of his Supreme Council for Hunza and Chitral and also as his Personal Representative in Central Asia. In 1962, for his help to the Italian mountaineering expedition to K-2, Italy awarded Jamal its Order of the Grand Officer. In October 1969, Jamal was invited to Paris to attend the marriage of the Aga Khan with Begum Salimah. After the ceremony, he and his wife showered 49 pearls at their feet as an act of reverence. The President of Pakistan also gave Jamal the titles of Hilal-e-Pakistan and Hilal-e-Juraet, and in December, 1964, he was promoted to the rank of honorary Major General in the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. The Mir's rule in Hunza came to an end in 1974 when

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

, the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, abolished his government and annexed the state to the Northern Areas of Pakistan, under the federal government. Jamal was forced to abdicate, and two years later he died at his residence in Karimabad, the former capital.

Personal life

In 1934 Jamal married Shams-un-Nehar, a princess of the

state of Nagar Nagar (, ''Riyasat Nagar'') was a Burusho princely state located in the northern region of present-day Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Although under the suzerainty of the Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Nagar was not a part of it, and had ...

, and they had two sons and three daughters, including

Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan (Urdu: میر غضنفر علی خان, born 31 December 1945) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 6th Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan. He was appointed as a governor of Gilgit-Baltistan after governor Barjees Tahir. ...

Notes

External links

Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemmaNorthern Areas Development GatewayPakistan's Northern AreasThe Mountain Areas Conservancy Project
{{Pakistan-royal-stub People from Hunza-Nagar District History of Gilgit Agency Hunza Monarchs who abdicated 1912 births 1976 deaths People from Gilgit-Baltistan Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Early life

Reign

Personal life

See also

Notes

External links