In the death of Syed Mardan Shah, Pir Pagara, the people of Pakistan have lost one of its most respected and mercurial politicians, a spiritual leader of a deeply committed following and the son of a father whose struggle against British colonialism and supreme sacrifice remains a glorious chapter of our history. He died of cardiac arrest in a London hospital Monday at the age of 83, bringing to an end the impressive chronicle of a remarkable life known as much for its moral courage and political astuteness as for the mystery as to what Pir Pagara really was. He was a man of today in that he actively participated in politics and as of yesterday who stuck to his role as chief of the Hur Movement with its substantial contribution to the country's defence. Much though we know him as a maker and breaker of political alliances the Pir's life account is an interesting read. How a small band of desert fighters under the command of his father challenged the might of the British Empire and perished in glaring contrast to the prevalent ambience when all around the place the people were kneeling before the colonial lords to get knighted and were recruited as cannon fodder for the Empire's distant wars - that is our precious heritage. In 1977, Pir Sahib did join the political opposition's Pakistan National Alliance; giving it the weight and clout that eventually proved to be the nemesis of the then Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto-led PPP government. It's no secret that Pir Pagara was close to the Establishment, but never in the way many others were or presently are. Pagaras have a history of resisting foreign invaders and have offered help and material assistance to Muslim freedom fighters, beginning with the first Pir of Pagara, Sibghatullah Shah-I, who provided forces to Syed Ahmad Shaheed Barelvi in his Jihad against the Sikhs. Since then the Pagaras' fighter militia is known as the Hurs. In the 1965 and 1971 wars the Hurs fought on our border with India alongside the Pakistan Army as the Hur Mujahid Regiment. That is the link which kept the Pir of Pagara close to the GHQ, and not as the ISI-pampered political entities. Pagaras are there in national politics for their recognition as freedom fighters and for their heroic contributions to the cause of freedom, a tribute recognised as early as the birth of Pakistan. In 1949, Pakistan's first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, met Pir of Pagara, then a 'prisoner' in a London school - the treatment the children of rebellious sub-continental royalties received at the hands of the colonial rulers - and assured him of the restoration of his status as the Pir of Pagara. Pir Sahib returned home in 1952 and took over the leadership of the Hur community. Since then he took part in politics, not as a power-seeker but as a patron of a kind of politics which is above and beyond ethnic, parochial and sectarian considerations. A more accurate account of his life, however, remains missing to date, given his pungency for cryptic descriptions of political players and their games. But deep down in his heart the Pir of Pagara was immensely humane, warm-hearted and forgiving. He will be missed a lot by the people for he had offered the lighter and co-existential side of national politics, unlike the matter of life and death that politics is increasingly becoming for most of the political stakeholders in Pakistan. Copyright Business Recorder, 2012
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