Wali Khan
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HINDU
Friday, January 27, 2005
Wali Khan's death a great loss, says Musharraf
Indian team to attend funeral at Peshawar
ISLAMABAD: Veteran freedom fighter and Awami National Party leader
Rehber Khan Abdul Wali Khan, 89, breathed his last in Peshawar on
Thursday. He was ailing for several months and had slipped into a coma
two days ago.
An Indian delegation, led by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson K. Rehman
Khan, is expected to fly to Peshawar in a special aircraft to attend
the last rites. Mr. Khan is the son of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also
known as "Frontier Gandhi."
Paying rich tributes, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said Mr. Khan
came from a rare breed of human beings who led their lives based on
their principles and convictions. "The entire political life of the
late Wali Khan was an embodiment of these qualities. The sad demise is
indeed a great loss for the nation."
Born in Utmanzai area of Charsadda on January 11, 1917, Mr. Khan got
his preliminary education at the Azad School, established by his
father.
Khudai Khidmatgar
He started his political career as a `Khudai Khidmatgar' (Servant of
God) in 1942 and was sent to jail in 1943 under the Frontier Crimes
Regulations. Like his father, Mr. Wali Khan spent most of his life
behind bars or under house arrest. He was a member of the All-India
Congress Committee and the joint secretary of the NWFP Congress in
1947. He was jailed in 1948 without trial and freed in 1954. In 1970,
he was elected to the National and Provincial Assemblies and also
elected leader of the combined opposition in the National Assembly.
He was put on trial before the Hyderabad Tribunal and freed in December
1977. He authored the books Facts are Sacred and Khudai Khidmatgar
Movement. He quit politics after losing to Maulana Hasan Jan in the
1990 general elections.