CHITRAL: The growing number of shops selling the locally extracted shilajit or salajeet shows its growing popularity among the people of Chitral, who use it for its healing effect in a number of diseases, including arthritis, bone infections, indigestion, anaemia, wounds in different parts of body as well as infertility in men.

Salajeet is a tar-like sticky substance, deep brown or blackish in colour, being the rich mixture of chemical elements namely calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, chromium, lead coupled with hydrocarbons, proteins, amino acids, folic acid and alcohols.

Hakeem Mujeebullah in Shahi Bazaar, who is practicing organic medicines for the last 50 years, said that the mountains of Chitral situated in the foothills of Hindukush system of mountains are rich in salajeet, which is called ‘zomo ashru’ meaning ‘tears of mountain’ in Chitrali language.

He said that its collection was literally an uphill task as this exuded from the crevices of steep mountains in highest altitudes, which is generally inaccessible for human beings.

Traditional medicine Shilajit termed beneficial for general health, weak bones

He said salajeet had been a traditional medicine used in Chitral for long because no modern healthcare facilities were available here.

Based on his experience, Mr Mujeebullah said that arthritis and bone infection patients found the local medicine as the most effective and soothing.

Regarding the purity of the substance collected from the mountains, he claimed that it was of superb quality having all the necessary components and free of contamination. “That is why its price is many times higher than that of the non-local variety brought from Badakhshan area of Afghanistan.”

“Due to the growing number of patients with arthritis and general weakness, the demand for salajeet has greatly increased over the years. The ageing people also use it regularly as a tonic to revitalise themselves,” he said.

Abdul Jabbar, a shopkeeper at PIA Chowk, told Dawn that the demand of salajeet was increasing with the passage of time while its online marketing to the overseas had also been started.

He said salajeet collected from Chitral mountains and purified here was sold at Rs40,000 per kilogramme, which was viscous at all temperatures, but the one from Afghanistan or Gilgit remained solid in all temperatures and its per kg price was Rs12,000.

He said pure salajeet was completely soluble in hot water or milk, and this was the basic mode of testing its purity.

Regarding its usage, he said the popular dose was half a gram (the size of a pea), and was taken before going to bed after being dissolved in hot water or milk. “The intake also causes light dizziness.”

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2025