Mir is a Persian word, synonymous to emir, and it means leader of a group or tribe. In the tribal societies of the Indian Subcontinent many people used this word with their names, as the leader/s of a tribe/s or group/s. The rulers of Hunza used the word “Mir” with their names during their 950 years of despotic rule. The ruler of Hunza was known as Mir of Hunza until 1974, when the state was abolished and it became a part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan under the federal government. Mir Muhammad Jamal Khan was the last Mir of Hunza. The use of the so-called title Mir of Hunza is no more legal in the country, because Hunza is no more a state but a part of the state of Pakistan and there can't be a state within the state. Anybody who goes against it is under the constitution charged with treason and inciting mutiny and the punishment for such an act is capital punishment.

External links

• The Changing Northern Areas http://www.dawn.com/events/lifestyle2002/ls16.htm
• Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1491179.stm
• Northern Areas Development Gateway http://www.northernareas.org.pk
• Pakistan's Northern Areas http://paknews.com/articles.php?id=1&date1=2003-04-17
• Northern Pakistan's Karakoram & Hindukush Mountains http://www.monitor.net/~jmko/karakoram/about-kh.htm
• The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project http://www.macp-pk.org/home.asp