Veteran Pashtun leader Wali Khan passes away

The son of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan died in Peshawar on Thursday after a prolonged illness.

Wali Khan, a close friend of India and son of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, died in Peshawar on Thursday after a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 89.

The veteran Pashtun leader was in coma after suffering a stroke two days ago.

His body would be kept at the Jinnah Stadium till Friday afternoon to enable the public to pay homage and would be then taken to his hometown Charasadha for burial after funeral prayers.

As soon as the news broke out, hundreds of local people gathered at his daughter's house in Peshwar to pay their last respects.

Indian High Commissioner Shivshankar Menon and Deputy High Commissioner TC A Raghavan have conveyed their condolences to Khan's family and plan to attend the funeral on Friday.

Wali Khan was highly regarded by many Indian leaders and shared close association with many Congress leaders.