Great loss: Former JI chief laid to rest

Sikh community leader says Qazi Hussain stood for religious solidarity.

PESHAWAR:

Senior politicians from across the country joined thousands of mourners at the funeral of Qazi Husain Ahmad, the longest-serving chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and former lawmaker, who died of cardiac arrest late Saturday night in Islamabad.

Draped in the party’s flag, Ahmad’s coffin was brought to an open ground near the motorway in an ambulance from his residence in Palsai, Peshawar for funeral rites. Apart from JI workers, students from madrassas were present along with members of the Sikh community from Lahore.

Amidst strict security protocols, the 74-year-old politician’s body was finally laid to rest. Jammat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawwar Hussain led the funeral prayer which was attended by Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leaders from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

After funeral prayers, the coffin was driven to the deceased’s village of Ziarat Kaka Saheb in Nowshera district.

General Secretary of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Ramesh Singh said that Ahmad played an important role in bringing religious solidarity to the country, adding that the late Ameer had resolved several problems of the Sikh community.

Fazlur Rehman also paid tribute to the late JI chief, saying that the deceased was not only a seasoned politician but also a prominent religious scholar.

Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan said that the death of the former JI Ameer, who had always remained loyal to democratic ideals, was a great loss to the country.

On Sunday morning, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Masood Kausar, senior minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and other government officials visited the house of Qazi Husain Ahmad to offer condolences. “Having long association since school age and family relationships, I always have found him a thorough gentleman; courageous leader with tremendous qualities of accommodation and tolerance and with his passing away, this province in particular has been deprived of a veteran personality,” said the K-P governor.

Remembered in Karachi

To pay tribute to their beloved “Agha Jan”, hundreds of JI and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba activists gathered at New MA Jinnah Road in Karachi on Sunday evening to offer his funeral prayers in absentia. Led by JI Karachi chief Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, the funeral was attended by a number of political and religious leaders, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Waseem Aftab and Amir Khan.

MQM’s Coordination Committee member Waseem Aftab said, “His death has left a vacuum which will never be filled up.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2013.