Amin ul-Hasanat

Who was Amin ul-Hasanat?

Amin ul-Hasanat, better known as the Pir of Manki Sharif, was an Islamic religious leader in the North-West Frontier Province of India during the mid twentieth century.

Hasanat joined the Muslim League and was notable for his campaigning role in the referendum that saw the NWFP become part of Pakistan rather than India. He was known as Fateh-e-Refrendum by 1945.

Soon after joining the All-India Muslim League in 1945, Hasanat toured the NWFP to win support for the Muslim League. He invited Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah to tour the Province. In one of Jinnah’s letters to Hasanat, he promised that sharia law would be applied to the affairs of the Muslim community. On October 1, 1945, Hasanat organized a historic meeting of the Ulema and Mashaikh at Peshawar, which passed resolutions expressing full loyalty with the Muslim League and reposing complete confidence in Jinnah's leadership.

Hasanat was active in campaigning for the Muslim League in the referendum held in NWFP in 1947, which decided the accession of the NWFP to Pakistan. He retired from politics in 1955 and died in a road accident on January 28, 1960.