LAHORE – The funeral for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Khalid Javaid Ghurki, husband of Federal Minister Samina Khalid Ghurki, was offered in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase 5 on Wednesday. Maulana Ameer Hamza led the funeral prayers. The Punjab governor, PPP provincial leaders, workers and politicians from the political divide were present.
Later another funeral prayer was offered in his native town before laying him to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Ghurki Town. People were expecting President Asif Ali Zardari, the prime minister and federal ministers to attend the funeral, keeping in view the relations of the Ghurkis with them, but they did not show up.
Meanwhile PPP Lahore leadership termed the demise of Khalid Ghurki as a loss to the party saying that the gap created with his death will never be filled. They sympathised with the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul. Rasm-e-Qul of Khalid Ghurki will be held at his residence 17-J Defence after Zohr prayer on Thursday.
President Zardari in his condolence message to the deceased’s family said that it was a setback to PPP as Khalid Ghurki was an asset for the party. Those prominent in the gathering were Punjab Governor Latif Khosa, PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badar, PPP Punjab President Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz, former provincial ministers; Farooq Yusaf Ghurki, Haji Ishaq, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, PPP leaders; Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Haji Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan, Zakria Butt, Naveed Chaudhry, Sameeullah Khan, Zamurd Khan, Aslam Khan, Khawaja Ahmed Tariq Raheem, Khuram Latif Khosa, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Asif Hashmi and a large numbers of PPP workers, government officials and citizens.
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leaders including MNAs; Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Pervez Malik and Naseer Bhutta attended the prayers, while former foreign minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri, former ambassador Mian Abdul Waheed, former PML-Q MNA Tariq Aziz and Mian Muneer were also present on the occasion. PPP Punjab General Secretary Sami Ullah Khan, Aurangzeb Barki, Dr fakhar and Usman Malik said that Ghurki’s death curtailed PPP’s penetration among the masses in the hub of PML-N. Asif Hashmi also expressed grief on Ghurki’s demise and eulogized his services to PPP and to the cause of democracy.
Ghurki, 58, passed away at Sheikh Zyed Hospital on Tuesday after protracted illness. He had kidney infection and was undergoing dialysis. His condition had been critical for a week. He is survived by two sons, two daughters and a widow, Samina Khalid Ghurki, a member of the federal cabinet.
