Abid Royal Family

The Abid Royal Family is one of the oldest and most respected royal family in Southeast Asia.

Originally from Iran, in the 1800s Haji Ashfaquddin Ahmad Abid became rich when he discovered oil on his property in present day Tehran. He started exporting the oil to surrounding industries (ie: blacksmiths) and built an empire with his fortunes. His entrepreneurial drive led his to become one of the wealthest oil families in Iran. He married Zubeda Begum, 18 at the time, while he was 45 years of age. She was the daughter of two teachers. It was very progressive at the time for both Zubeda's mother and father to pursue a career in teaching, because at the time few people were educated, and even fewer teachers were women. Haji Ashfaq noticed Zubeda in one of the bazaars in Tehran, followed her home, and asked for her hand.

His wealth grew expontentially when he began selling oil to places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Ashfaq and Zubeda moved closer to their clients, leaving their homes in Iran behind. They moved to Kabul, Afghanistan and raised their five children, 2 sons and 3 daughters, in a palace. Their two sons were Imtiaz Abid and Noor Abid. Their three daughters were Zarina Abid, Naseema Abid and Shireen Abid. Alongside Ashfaq's two sons, Imtiaz and Noor, they started becoming involved within the political sphere. They found that they had a lot of political followers and in Pakistan, thus leading the family to move once again. Ashfaq, at age 65 became president of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan, and had an unprecedented 100,000 followers. The family became known officially as the Abid Royal Family, because the family became involved in almost all aspects of life including politics, philanthropy, and agriculture. Ashfaq died in 1945. Zubeda, now known as Queen Zubeda took care of the children alongside 50 servants and 20 drivers. Part of the house, the guest house was dedicated to orphans and refugees. 30 of the servants worked in this quarter of the house. The Abid Royal Children rose in the ranks of Pakistani politics. Princess Shireen, most notable of the Royal clan, rose in the political limelight when she enrolled in law school and started her own women's foundation, actively fighting for women's rights in Pakistan. Princess Shireen married Syed Iftikhar, a Pakistani industrial developer. The family moved to the United States to continue their education. They had 3 daughters, Princesses Asma, Afsha and Nabeela.