LAHORE: The 50th death anniversary of Khawaja Ziauddin Ganai Pehalwan, the legendary Nairobi champion and renowned wrestling columnist, will be observed on March 25.
A distinguished figure in the world of traditional wrestling, he served as the Secretary of the Nairobi Wrestling Association. Notably, he was the Organizing Secretary of the Dangal Committee for the historic 1953 Nairobi tour of the legendary Gama Pehalwan, Imam Bakhsh Pehalwan, and the Bholo Brothers.
He was the father of the late Khawaja Zahiruddin (former Science Teacher at Central Model School).
He was the maternal grandfather of Sohail Javed Butt (Media Coordinator, Power Sports), Aqeel Javed Butt (International Weightlifter), Nadeem Javed Butt (Cricketer), and Khawaja Umar Hassan Dar.
He was the paternal grandfather of Khawaja Talha Zahir (Birmingham).
He was the cousin of K.H. Khurshid (Khurshid-e-Millat), the former Secretary to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Born in 1908 to Khawaja Ahmad Din (Director, Qadri Foundry, Badami Bagh), Khawaja Ziauddin also served as the Vice President of Akhwan-ul-Kashmir, Shadbagh. He passed away on March 25, 1976, and was laid to rest at the Peer Ronqi Graveyard, Shadbagh.
