Chitral royal family member Khushwaqtul Mulk passes away چترال کے شاہی خاندان کے سپوت اور چترال کی ہردلعزیز شخصیت کرنل خوشوقت الملک وفات پاگئے

The News - CHITRAL: Shahzada Col (R) Khushwaqtul Mulk, son of former mehtar (ruler) of Chitral Sir Shujaaul Mulk, passed away in the Military Hospital Rawalpindi on Friday morning after protracted illness. He was 96.

His funeral will be held in Chitral on Sunday at 10:00am and he will be laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Mastuj. Popularly known as ‘Mastujo Governor” and Col Khush to his close friends, the deceased was the father of Sirajul Mulk, proprietor of the Hindukush Heights Hotel, Captain of Chitral polo team and Mastuj Tehsil Nazim Sikandarul Mulk and late Shahzada Humayun. He was brother of Major (R) Khushamadul Mulk, uncle of MNA Shahzada Mohiuddin and Masood-ul-Mulk, chief executive of Sarhad Rural Support Programme and the father-in-law of Shahzada Dr Sardarul Mulk, Capt Javed Khan and Wing Cdr (R) Fardad Ali Shah.

Born in the princely family of Chitral on June 13, 1913, Khushwaqtul Mulk received his early education at home. He was sent to Royal Indian Military College Dehradun in 1926. After graduating from the Indian Military Academy in 1932, he was commissioned in the 2nd Green Howards Battalion and then served in 4/19th Hyderabad Regiment.

During his military career he took a memorable private visit to Iraq via Afghanistan and Iran. From 1944 onwards he served in the South Waziristan Scouts and later became its commandant.Khushwaqtul Mulk would spend his summers in Chitral but considered Peshawar his second home for the rest of the year. Here he made many friends owing to his warm, gentle and friendly nature. He bought the famous Holmes Studio in Peshawar Saddar belonging to RB Holmes, the pre-partition photographer from Peshawar, and renamed it Chitral House.

The late colonel was a regular member of the Peshawar Club and also served as its secretary in 1950s. He remained a ‘whiper-in’ of the famed Peshawar Vale Hunt (horse and hound club) from 1935 to 1951. In 1957 he joined the American Consulate and served there until his retirement in late 1970s. He was also the pioneer of Brooke Hospital, which he ran single-handedly for over six years.

The deceased was one of the senior-most surviving retired military officers of the Pakistan Army. Settled at Shami Road in later part of his life and fond of animals, the gentle-hearted Khushwaqtul Mulk was a familiar sight for the residents who got used to see him dressed in shorts and taking regular walk with his dogs before sunset everyday.

Source - The News