Ayaz Soomro's funeral held in Larkana

KARACHI: Thous­ands of people from Larkana division and it's neighbouring towns turned out at Municipal Stadium Ground  to participate in the funeral prayers of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Ayaz Soomro amidst tight security.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and his cabinet members were among those who attended the funeral prayer.

Soomro's body has been taken to Shahdadkot Town where he will be laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard.

 

Member of the National Assembly and former Sindh law minister, Soomro passed away in New York after a protracted illness earlier this week. He was 60 years old. His body was shifted to Karachi earlier today from where it was sent to Larkana for the final rites.



According to his family members, Ayaz was suffering from heart and kidney problems for a long time and passed away from cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning.

He started his political career as a student leader during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s time and went to jail many times during the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD).

A lawyer by profession, Soomro served many times as the president of the Larkana Bar Association. PPP appointed him many times as the Larkana division president and he remained a long-serving president till the party dissolved the provincial body in April 2016.

In parliamentary politics, PPP allotted Soomro a provincial assembly seat in 2002 and he played an important role while sitting on the opposition benches till 2007. In 2008, he again contested the provincial election from Larkana and won the seat. The PPP government appointed him as the law minister with other additional portfolios.



PPP had announced a three-day mourning in Larkana to mark the death of its senior leader. PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the mourning would be observed only in Larkana, while all scheduled party engagements would remain suspended for three days.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed grief and sorrow over Soomro's demise.