Former JI amir Syed Munawar Hassan passes away

He passed away at the age of 79

KARACHI: Former Jamaat-e- Islami (JI) amir Syed Munawar Hassan passed away on Friday at the age of 79.

According to party leaders, he was suffering from chest pain and was admitted to a hospital two weeks prior.

JI local leader Shoaib Ahmed said doctors put him on a ventilator and he passed away this morning.

Syed Munawar Hassan was born in Delhi in August 1941. Soon after partition, his family migrated to Pakistan.

The former JI amir received his early education from Jacob Line after which did his Masters in Sociology and Islamic Studies from Karachi University in 1963 and 1966 with distinction.

He began his political career at the National Students Federation and became the president of the federation in 1959.

Following his presidency, he joined Jamaat-e-Islami.

He contested 1977 elections and won the National Assembly (NA) seat, defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate.

Syed Munawar also served as a director of Islamic Research Academy and under his supervision and published around 70 books.

He was selected as the JI amir of Karachi in 1991 and deputy secretary in 1992. He served as the JI amir from 2009 to 2014.

He is survived by a son and a daughter.


Funeral details

Funeral prayers of the JI leader will be offered on June 27 (Saturday) at Eidgah Ground, Nazimabad. Prayers will be offered at 1:30pm.


Condolences

President Dr Arif Alvi has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Syed Munawar Hassan.

He prayed for the departed soul and commiserated with the bereaved family.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed deep condolences over the demise of the former JI chief.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari extended condolences to the Syed Munawar's family and party leaders.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto offered their condolences to the family members.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said he is deeply saddened by the demise of the former JI amir.

The minister took to microblogging website Twitter and said Syed Munawar was a proponent of democracy and a very sophisticated man, who became a powerful voice for Muslims around the world.