Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Prominent Shia Cleric, President of All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association, breathed his last at his home in Qamarwari, Srinagar on Tuesday morning.
Born on 26 April, 1940, Ansari was the Vice-President of Peoples Democratic Party. He had become Member of Legislative Council in 1972 and later got elected to the state assembly in 1983. He was again elected in 1996, re-elected in 2002 and 2008.
The news of Iftikhar Ansari’s death spread like wild fire across the valley and thousands of his followers thronged his home and mourned the death.
Tens of thousands of people took Ansari’s funeral procession from his residence Qamarwari to Imambada Zadibal and attended his funeral prayers including various political leaders and religious scholars.
Roads from Qamerwari to Zadibal were Jam-Packed with mourners and traffic remained crippled in the adjoining areas of these routes in Srinagar
He was laid to rest in his ancestor graveyard Baba Mazar Alamgari Bazar around 5 pm in the evening
PDP party patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and president, Mehbooba Mufti including other PDP leaders have termed his death a great loss to the society.
Senior National Conference Leaders, including Ministers, Members of Parliament, Legislators and Office Bearers of the party have condole his demise and prayed for the peace of the departed soul.
Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir along his Political Secretary Tanveer Sadiq and other political figures rushed to the residence of the late leader and expressed deep grief over the demise the Former Minister and sitting Legislator.
Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari had studied in Iran and Iraq and was man of words with an in-depth knowledge on varied subjects ranging from politics, history to religious philosophy. Maulan Altaf Hussain Hali, a great poet is from the ancestors of Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari.
People from all walks of life condoled the family of Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari especially his sons ImranAnsari, Irfan Ansari and his brothers Abid Ansari, Amjad Ansari.