Nasir I of Kalat


Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch the Khan of the Kingdom of Kalat in what is now the Balochistan province of Pakistan during the eighteenth century. Naseer Khan used his eloquence and virtues to unite all the Baloch tribes and brought them under his banner.

History

Mir Muhammad Nasir Khan I was probably the most powerful of the Khans of Kalat who ruled for 45 years from 1749 to 1794. After an initial unsuccessful revolt against Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1758 he later became his most powerful ally and his Baloch Army fought alongside the Afghans of Abdali against the Persians, the Marathas and the Sikhs. The boundaries of the Khanate of Kalat under Nasir Khan I extended far beyond those of modern Balochistan and included the town of Karachi. Khan was the first ruler of Balochi regions to bring about healthy relations with other nations, and knit the tribal organization of the Balochs into one Baloch entity. Khan also established a Baloch parliament which could function on a workable constitution based on Islamic Sharia Baluch traditions. People began to attach the word Wali, meaning 'a saint', to his name for his efforts to bring about a united state.