Jammu And Kashmir Chief Minister Dies

The “Namaaz-e-Janazah” (funeral prayers) of the departed leader was offered in the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium at Sonawar here, in which thousands of the mourners took part. The Governor said Sayeed’s death was an irreparable loss to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was deeply pained to learn of Sayeed’s demise.

56-yeard-old Mehbooba Mufti, who is the PDP’s president, has had her share of detractors in the saffron ranks for several reasons.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had said that the last wish of his 60-year-long political career was peace between India and Pakistan and said that the decision to forge an alliance with the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre, was to fulfill his dream. She will be the first woman chief minister of the country’s only Muslim-majority state.

He died on Thursday, said his party leader and Kashmir state Education Minister Nayeem Akhter.

A severely diabetic, Sayeed “died due to bone marrow dysfunction”, a hospital spokesman told IANS. He was admitted on December 24 with fever as well as chest infection.

Mufti’s body will be flown back to state capital Srinagar. “In his passing away, we have lost an outstanding public figure who was always in touch with the grassroots of society”, Mukherjee in his condolence message said.

He received his graduation degree in law from S.P. College, Srinagar, India. Sayeed had himself hinted during a press conference in Jammu in November 2015 that he would like to hand over the reins to his daughter Mehbooba Mufti.

“Sayeed was a colleague of long years”.

In 2002 Assembly elections, PDP bagged 16 seats and Sayeed for the first time became Chief Minister with the support of Congress and some independent MLAs. His campaign for introducing confidence building measures to remove distrust between people living in India and Pakistan had led to the opening of cross LoC Uri-Muzaffrabad and Poonch-Rawalakote roads for trade and travel between people of Jammu Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Social pressure nearly persuaded the JKLF to release Rubaiya but the Cabinet Committee on Security jumped the gun and agreed to the kidnapper’s earlier demands and ordered the release of the JKLF leaders in exchange.