Qazi Hussain Ahmad laid to rest

Former Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed has been buried for eternal rest in his native village Ziarat Kaka Saheb Sunday. Earlier, the funeral prayer of veteran politician was offered here this day at Motorway Ring Road Chowk. Current Ameer of Jamat-e-Islami, Munawar Hassan lead the funeral prayer. The funeral prayers were also attended by a large number of political and religious leaders including Central Amir of Jamiat e Ulema Islam (JUI-F) Fazlur Rehman, Chairman Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf President, Javed Hashmi, JUI-F leader, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, JI leader Liaquat Baloch, Former Senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister, Siraj Ul Haq, JUI-Sami Chief, Maulana Samiul Haq, Professor Khurshid Ahmed, former MNA Shabeer Ahmed Khan, senators, members of the parliament, officials, ex-local government representatives. A large number of Jamat-e-Islami workers and many key political leaders were present in the funeral prayer. Later on, Qazi Hussain Ahmad’s body was taken to his native village, Ziarat Kaka Saheb, in District Nowshehra of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Jamat-e-Islami’s former Ameer, 74-year old Qazi Hussain Ahmad died of cardiac arrest late Saturday night in Islamabad. He was suffering from heart disease for quite some time.

In November 2012, he had escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt when a female suicide bomber tried to kill him by blowing herself up. Three of his guards been injured in the attack near the Ghaiba Khwar area in the Haleemzai tehsil. He was born on 12 January 1938 and remained a strong critic of counter-terrorism policy of the United States, and was widely known for his opposition against United States participation in civil war in the neighboring Afghanistan. After completing early education at home, Qazi Hussain Ahmad took admission in Islamia College, Peshawar and after that got his Masters of Science degree in Geography from Peshawar University. He served as lecturer for three years. His affiliation with the Islamic Movement started in his school days when he joined Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, Pakistan. He became member of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1970 and was elected to the office of President of its Peshawar branch. He served Jamaat-e-Islami as Secretary and then Ameer of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. He was raised to the office of JI Secretary General in 1978 and after elected as its Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan in 1987, he got re-elected four more times i.e. 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2003. In 2008, he excused to be elected once more and the members of his Party (Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan) elected Syed Munawwar Hassan as the new President of the Party. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed profound grief and sorrow over the demise of former Amir Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed. In their condolence messages‚ they termed his demise as a great loss on religious and political spectrum of the country. They lauded his services as a prolific religious scholar and a veteran politician who served his party with strong devotion‚ dedication and commitment leading it for over two decades. Federal Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Chief Minister offered condolences over the death of the veteran politician and called it a great loss. Pakistan Muslim league- Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and Religious scholar and Minhaj-ul-Quran International chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, among others, also offered condolences over the demise of the former JI chief.

-The Nation