The Katur Dynasty was the ruling family of the erstwhile princely state of Chitral, now located in Pakistan. Founded by Shah Katur (1585-1630), the dynasty ruled Chitral until 1971 when the Government of Pakistan took over. A princely state or native state was a feudal monarchy in British India ruled by a hereditary ruler, who was nominally sovereign. ... Chitral, or ChitrÄl, is the name of a town (35° 53 N; 71° 48 E), valley, river, district, and former princely state in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... 1585 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...
During the reign of Mehtar Aman-ul-Mulk, known as Lot (great) Mehtar, the dynasty's sway extended from Asmar in the Kunar valley of Afghanistan to Punyal in the Gilgit Valley. Northern Swat, Dir and Kafiristan paid tribute to the Mehtar of Chitral. Kunar province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country and on the border with Pakistan. ... Gilgit is a region in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... SWAT officers SWAT (an acronym for Special Weapons and Tactics; originally Special Weapons Attack Team) is a specialized paramilitary police unit in major United States city police departments, which is trained to perform dangerous operations. ... In computer software, dir has several meanings: Dir is a district of NWFP It is short for directory It is a command in the DOS operating system; see dir (DOS Command) It is also a command in the OpenVMS operating system; see directory (OpenVMS command) In SCUBA diving, DIR commonly... Kafiristan (land of the infidels) was a region in Afghanistan whose inhabitants maintained a wild independence until they were subdued by the amir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1896. ...
The current Mehtar is H.H. Saif-ul-Mulk, but he has no actual power.
Chitral was ruled by the Katur Mehtars who claimed descent from Tamerlane, through his descendant Sultan Abul Ghazi Baiqara of Herat.
The ruler's title Mehtar is unique; his male descendants were styled Mehtarjao, equally rare, until the higher (Persian) royal style Shahzada, originally reserved for the Crown prince (Tsik mehtar, again unique, as Heir Persumptive, becomes Wali-Akht Sahib as heir Apparent), was extended to all princes of the Mehtar's blood since the rulers at that point.
The Katur Dynasty and His Highness are still widely respected and honoured by the people of Chitral today, but the current Mehtar, H.H. Saif-ul-Mulk, has no actual power.
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