Wāli of Swat

The Wāli of Swat (Urdu: والی سوات) was the official title of the leader (wāli) of the Miangul dynasty that ruled over the state of Swat between 1857 and 1969.

History

The state of Swat was founded by Saidu Baba, religious leader also known as Akhund of Swat, in 1849. After his death in 1878, the state fell into abeyance until 1915, when Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah, a descendant of Pir Baba gained power with the title of Badshah. The grandson of Saidu Baba, Wadud of Swat was elected as Wali of Swat in 1918. This title was changed to "Wali" in 1926, when Swat became a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with the British Indian Empire.^[1]

Upon Pakistan's independence in August 1947, Swat became a fully independent princely state until 3 November, when it acceded to Pakistan as one of the autonomous Princely states of Pakistan, and the Wali continued to rule.^[2] The Wali ceased to rule in 1969, when the state of Swat was incorporated into the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). The region comprising the former princely state today covers parts of the Swat, Buner and Shangla districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Today, the title is used unofficially as a courtesy title by heirs of the Miangul family of the former Wali of Swat. The whole dynasty founded by the Abdul Wadud Badshah, also called itself by this title. The Wāli of Swat, Miangul Abdul Wadud, acceded his state to Pakistan on 3 November 1947. The last Wali, Miangul Jahan Zeb (1908 to 1987) continued to exercise absolute rule until Pakistan took control, when on 28 July 1969, Yahya Khan announced the full integration of Swat, Chitral, and Dir into Pakistan.

Rulers of Swat

The title was made honorary after 1969 when the monarch was replaced by a civil administration.

Tenure	Rulers of Swat
1849–1857	Akbar Shah
1857–1878	Saidu Baba
1878–1916	state in abeyance
1916–1918	Abdul Jabbar Shah
1918–1949	Miangul Abdul Wadud
1949–1969	Miangul Jahan Zeb
1969–1987	Miangul Jahan Zeb
1987–2014	Miangul Aurangzeb
2014–2022	Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb

References

1. Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb, "Flashback, The Wali of Swat", The Express Tribune, 4 August 2014, at tribune.com.pk, accessed 1 November 2020
2. Wayne Ayres Wilcox, Pakistan: The Consolidation of a Nation (Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-02589-8), p. 82

• Last ruler of Swat: Jahanzeb, a visionary who educated and loved his people
• Swat's Gandhara heritage waits to be protected

Further reading

• Dr. Sultan-I-Rome, Swat State under the Walis (1917–69), Ph.D. Dissertation, P 28-35
• Miangul Jehanzeb, The Last Wali of Swat, as told to Fredrik Barth. Norwegian University Press/Universitetsforlaget AS, Oslo, 1985