Rashid Hussain laid to rest

PESHAWAR: Funeral prayers for Mian Rashid Hussain, the sole son of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, were offered in Pabbi in Nowshera district on Sunday.

Rashid was killed by unidentified men in his ancestral town of Pabbi on Saturday evening.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, members of the ANP leadership and a number of other notable officials attended the funeral, which was held under strict security measures.

Meanwhile, politicians and lawmakers across the country offered their condolences to Mian Iftikhar.

President Asif Ali Zardari offered his condolences to Mian Iftikhar Hussain by telephone, and expressed his grief over Rashid Hussain’s murder.

He added that such attacks carried out by terrorists would not cause the nation to lose its resolve to eradicate extremism.

Both Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah condemned the murder of Mian Iftikhar’s son’s and expressed deep sorrow and grief at his death in a statement issued in Karachi. Qaim Ali Shah said the killing was an act of terrorism and acknowledged that Mian Iftikhar had played an active role against terrorism.

The US mission in Pakistan also condemned the target killing of Rashid Hussain, saying: “We extend our condolences to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and his family.” (With additional input from agencies)

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2010.