Akond of Swat

Akhund Abdul Ghaffur Saidu Baba
Tomb Of Saidu Baba
Born	1793 Jabrai, Matta, Upper Swat
Died	1878
Resting place	Saidu Sharif
Known for	Ruling Swat area

Akhūnd Abdul Ghaffūr (Pashto: اخوند عبدالغفور‎), commonly known as Saidū Bābā (Pashto: سيدو بابا‎) or the Akhund of Swat, was a prominent religious Mullah or priest, and Emir of the former Yusufzai State of Swat. Saidu Baba was a supporter of the Afghan Emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai, and opposed the Sikh and British forces.

Saidu Baba was an influential mullah and his residence in Swat was the destination for numerous pilgrimages by his disciples to consult him. He was succeeded by a notable line of other mullahs and theologians. The Saidu Sharif city in Swat District is named after him.

Saidu Baba was born at Jabrai, Matta, Upper Swat valley in 1793 AD to Gujjar family. He got his early education from Mian Brangola. Later, he went to Mardan, Nowshehra and Peshawar for completion of his education. In 1835, he returned to Swat and settled in Baligram (now Saidu Sharif). In 1836, when the British tried to annex Swat valley, at that time Saidu Baba united the people against them and called for Jihad of Ambela, which discouraged the British expansion to the region.

In 1831, when the Muslim activist Syed Ahmad Barelvi was killed by the Sikhs along with hundreds of Barelvi's mujahideen in the battle of Balakot, many of his mujahideen stayed in Buner under the protection of Saidu Baba. They started a new uprising against the British Empire under Saidu Baba's leadership in 1862.