 He was the younger brother of Agha Hilaly who also joined ICS and later opted for Pakistan's foreign service, serving as Pakistan's Ambassador in important capitals such as London, Moscow and Washington (at a time when his younger brother Shahi was Pakistan's permanent representative to UN in New York).Agha Hilaly's son, Zafar Hilaly (who is also a former diplomat), is Agha Shahi's nephew.On 6 September 2006, he died after suffering a heart attack, at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, aged 86.