Sayyid Shah Mardan Shah-II () widely known as Pir of Pagaro VII (, ; 22 November 1928 – 10 January 2012) was the spiritual leader of

Hurs Hurs (, , 'free') are a Sufist community in the province of Sindh, Pakistan who adhere to Sunni Islam. Their current spiritual leader is Pir of Pagaro VIII, who serves as a politician in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. History Colonia ...

and president of political party

Pakistan Muslim League (F) The Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) (, Acronym and initialism, acronym: PMLF, PML-F, PML (F)) is a Nationalism in Pakistan, nationalist and pro-Hurs clan political party in Pakistan. It is one of the List of Muslim League breakaway groups, br ...

. He was commonly known in Pakistan as ''Pir Sahib Pagara'' and ''Pir Shaab''. He was an influential figure in

Pakistani politics The Politics of Pakistan ( ; ISO: ''Siyāsiyāt-e-Pākistāna'') takes place within the framework established by the constitution. The country is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of aut ...

and the leader of Hur Force in Pakistan who participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was also a

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er. He died on 10 January 2012 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, due to

liver infection The liver is a major metabolic organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of various proteins and various other biochemicals necessary for ...

Personal life

Pir Pagara is a title given to the leader of the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

order of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province of Pakistan. It comes from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word " Pir" (elder or "saint") and the Sindhi word "Pagaro", which means Chieftain's Turban. The seventh Pir Pagara was Pir Syed Mardan Shah II. He was born in Pir Jo Goth,

in 1928. Pir Pagara spent a major part of his life engaged in Pakistan's politics. His father Pir Sayyid Sibghatullah Shah II was hanged on 20 March 1943 by the colonial government due to his involvement in the Hur Movement. He was nominated as the first president of the United Muslim League by Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah . He was Chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), and spiritual leader of the 'Hur' jamaat. He was one of the most influential and respected political personalities of Pakistan. His predictions on Pakistan's politics were sometimes quoted in the media. He was usually visited by many senior politicians of Pakistan such as

Sheikh Rasheed Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad (; born 6 November 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 38th Interior Minister of Pakistan in Imran Khan government from 2020 to 2022. He is the founder and leader of Awami Muslim League, and also maintains clo ...

, Chaudhry Shujaat, Raza Haroon and

Shah Mehmood Qureshi Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi (; born 22 June 1956) is a Pakistani politician who served as the minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2011. He had been a Parliament of Pakistan from Augu ...

Cricket

Usually referred to in cricket literature as the Pir of Pagaro, he was influential in the early years of Pakistan's cricket development in the 1950s. Before Pakistan's first tour of England in 1954 he had a grass pitch constructed in his garden so that the Pakistan players, who had to play most of their cricket at the time on matting pitches, could practise in something similar to English conditions. He re-founded the Sind Cricket Association, captained

Sind Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

in the first-ever match in the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

in November 1953, and organized and captained a team under his name against the MCC in 1955-56.

Death

Pir Pagara was admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) on 24 November 2011, for the treatment of infected lungs. According to doctors, he was in a very serious condition and was therefore put on a ventilator and flown to London on a special air ambulance on 5 January, along with a physician and family members.Pir Pagara died in London 10 January 2012
/ref> He died on 10 January 2012 due to a liver infection, his body was returned to Pakistan on the following day. Many political parties in Pakistan, including the

, sent their condolences to the family. He was buried in his native Pir Jo Goth village alongside his ancestors. He was succeeded by his son

Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi III Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi III (, ), also known as Raja Saein, the eighth Pir of Pagaro, (born 14 February 1956) is a Pakistani politician who has served as a member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh. Early life and career He is the eldest son of ...

, known informally as ''Raja Saeen, both as the

Pir Pagara Sayyid Shah Mardan Shah-II () widely known as Pir of Pagaro VII (, ; 22 November 1928 – 10 January 2012) was the spiritual leader of Hurs and president of political party Pakistan Muslim League (F). He was commonly known in Pakistan as ''Pir ...

and leader of

References

External links

Pir Pagara Passes Away

Pir Pagara to head united Muslim League

Pir Pagara website

{{Authority control 1928 births 2012 deaths Deaths from liver disease Pagara family Pakistan Muslim League (F) politicians Pakistani cricketers Pakistani hunters Pakistani political party founders Pakistani religious leaders Pakistani Sufis Pakistani Sunni Muslims Politicians from Karachi Sindh cricketers Sindhi people Alumni of the University of Liverpool Pirs of Sindh

Personal life

Cricket

Death

See also

References

External links