Syed Yahya Shah سيد يحي (also called Aga Yahya) was a Pakistani politician and scholar from Gilgit-Baltistan.

Early life

Shah was born in Minapin,

Nagar District The Nagar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Nagar District was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District into two districts: the Hunza District and th ...

of Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan. He acquired his early education in Nomal and Gilgit, and attended high school in Astor and Kashmir. He then studied at

Edwardes College Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. On return to Gilgit he taught at High School Gilgit. Syed Yahya Shah passed away on Sunday 11 April 2021 at 3:45 AM DHQ Hospital Gilgit.

Political career

The people of Nagar elected him to become the first elected Member of Legislative Assembly of Gilgit–Baltistan from Nagar. He actively played a role in making Hunza–Nagar a District in Gilgit–Baltistan.

Charity work

In addition to his political career, Syed Yahya worked as pioneer nature conservation activist in Gilgit–Baltistan. He was the first person to introduce Trophy Hunting Programme(THP) in Bar Valley in Nagar, which was supported by IUCN, WWF and Government of Pakistan and replicated by other communities and villages of Gilgit–Baltistan. He saved several snow leopards in Nagar when they were caught to kill by villagers. Syed has also worked on various charity projects to improve his home region. He initiated the connecting a warm spring in Diater Mountains in the Karakoram to Bar Valley in Nagar in collaboration with WWF which not only saved fuel energy but also decreased diseases in women caused by the washing of clothes in cold water during cold weather. As Minapin Community Leader, in Minapin village he motivated Aga Khan Rural Support Programme to initiate a project which restored a deserted mountain called Khaiadar where the canal irrigating to the pastures and agricultural fields at this mountain was cut off from the source of water-glacier by climate changed recession of glacier. He led the community to install a pipeline which reconnected broken water channel after 150 years of

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

. Syed Yahya Shah participated in a historical documentation of customary laws in nature conservation in Gilgit–Baltistan, a project of IUCN and the government of Pakistan.

Awards

Syed Yahya Shah was awarded The Quid-e- Azam Award by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme for his social work. Awarded Asad Ali shah award by WWF in 2011 in Lahore on his great contribution on saving wild life.

Publications

*''Broshaal Ke Qabail'' (Published by North News Agency) *''Touzeeh-ul-Wasail'' (Published by AKRSP Gilgit) *''Broshaal'' (Published by AKRSP Gilgit) *''Gilgit–Baltistan Ke Namwar Khawatin'' (Published by Hanisara, Gilgit)

References

Conservation efforts in Northern Areas

Conservation efforts in Northern Areas

IUCN -

External links

''Daily Times''

Pamir TimesSnow Leopard NetworkWWF-PakistanWWF-Trophy Hunting in PakistanDAWN-Magazine-Environment

DAWN-Magazine-Endangered SpeciesIUCN -Northern Areas Strategy for Sustainable Development-HKKH-Partnership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Syed Yahya 1920s births Year of birth uncertain 2021 deaths People from Hunza-Nagar District Pakistani conservationists Pakistani nature writers Pakistani politicians People from Gilgit-Baltistan Members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly