Peshawar: Ajmal Khattak, a veteran Pakistani
politician and once a close confidant of 'Frontier Gandhi'
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and a member of the Quit India
Movement, has died at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness.
Khattak, who was a former president of the Awami National
Party, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Akhora
Khattak in Nowshera district of North West Frontier Province
this afternoon.
The funeral of the popular leader was attended by
thousands of people from across the country and Afghanistan.
People from all walks of life paid tribute to the
political and intellectual services of Khattak, who was also a
well-known poet.
He was born in 1925 and died after a protracted illness
at his residence late last night.
Khattak was associated with the Indian independence
movement against the British in the NWFP. He also gained a
large following as an eminent writer, Pashto poet and
philosopher.
He began his political career during the Quit India
movement after being influenced by Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and
his Khudai Khidmatgar movement. He was forced to leave school
due to his involvement in the Quit India movement.
Later, he served as editor of various newspapers and
periodicals, including "Anjam," "Shahbaz," "Adal" and "Rahber"
and as a script writer for Radio Pakistan.
Since Khattak was a prominent figure in the National
Awami Party, he was once wanted by the federal security forces
as part of a general crackdown on the party.
In order to avoid arrest and possible torture, he went
into self-imposed exile in Afghanistan and stayed there for 16
years. During this time, he was closely associated with the
Pakhtunistan movement.
During his years in Kabul, Khattak was a close confidant
of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and enjoyed excellent relations
with leaders of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan,
including President Nur Muhammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and
Mohammad Najibullah.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani condoled the death of Khattak.
In a message to Khattak's son Aimal Khan Khattak, Zardari
said his father belonged to that "rare breed of politicians
who were fast becoming extinct".
Khattak earned a name both in politics and in poetry and
literature and his revolutionary poems galvanised a generation
of Pashtuns in the decades since the 1950s, Zardari said.
"His books were banned and he was chased and hounded but
nothing deterred him. In politics, he illumined the path for
generations to come with his steadfastness and courage of
conviction," he said.
PTI