Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan buried amid tears and prayers

Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan buried amid tears and prayers

Mubashar Naqvi

MUZAFFARABAD: The veteran Kashmiri leader, former President and Prime Minster of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyume Khan who passed away of protracted illness on Friday, was buried with full official protocol in his ancestral graveyard at Ghazi Abad, District Bagh of Azad Kashmir here on Saturday in the presence of a large number of mourners.

Thousands of people from all walks of life across Azad Kashmir and Islamabad including the heads of various political, religious parties and people from all walks of life attended the funeral ceremony of the late "Mujahid-e-Awwal" at Ghazi Abad.

Prominent among those who participated in the funeral were included AJK Acting AJK President Sardar Ghulam Sadiq Khan, Federal Minster for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique, PML (N) AJK Chief Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Cabinet Ministers and Members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative Assembly.

They paid glowing tribute to prominent Kashmiri leader who devoted his life for the cause of Kashmir cause and the rights of downtrodden people in the state. He remained steadfast and committed to his ideals and ideology throughout his life. The void created by his death will be difficult to fill, people said.

Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayoom khan passed away at Islamabad yesterday after protracted illness. It was a close holiday on Saturday in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

AJK Government has declared three day mourning over the death of former President and state flag is flying half-mast on public buildings.

Talking to our correspondent people from different walks of life said that country is deprived of a great political leader. They said that Sardar Qayyum's contributions for strengthening democracy and liberation movement of Kashmir would always be remembered.

Sardar Qayyum remained state President, Prime Minister and chairman of Kashmir Committee and was among the founders of Kashmiris' struggle for freedom. He was considered as one of the founders of the Kashmir Liberation Movement and the supreme leader of the Muslim Conference which is the oldest political party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir region.

Sardar Qayyum was also known as Mujahid-e-Awal or the first warrior and was believed to have fired the first bullet in the 1947 war of liberation to establish AJK.

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