The Hindu : Pak. Opposition leader dead

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 28, 2003

International

International

Pak. Opposition leader dead

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD SEPT. 27. Veteran Opposition leader, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, referred to as the "Jayaprakash Narayan of Pakistan", died here today. He was 85.

Mr. Khan, who spent all his life fighting dictatorship, military as well as civilian, suffered a heart attack on Tuesday hours after he arrived from Lahore to galvanise the anti-Musharraf forces. He never recovered from the stroke.

It is strictly not correct to compare the Nawabzada with `JP', as the former hailed from a feudal background and presided over a virtual one-man party. Despite that, he was considered the natural choice to head every anti-government alliance since the 1950s.

Ironically, he became a victim of the new rule slapped by the President, Pervez Musharraf, prescribing graduation as the minimum qualification to contest the election. For the first time, he was out of the electoral fray when general elections were held in October last. But in his capacity as Chairman of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, he was engaged in bringing together like-minded parties to oppose the Musharraf-imposed laws. The Nawabzada held the Army responsible for the fragility of the political system in Pakistan. His last political mission was his visit to London and Jeddah, where he met the former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and asked them to return to Pakistan.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Call for end to 'occupation' of Iraq

Lukewarm response to Germany's `green card' scheme

Osama: U.S. should share responsibility, says Musharraf

Pak. Opposition leader dead

'Iran, N. Korea must halt nuclear programmes'

LTTE's track record does not hold out much hope: experts

S. Koreans oppose U.S. plea

Maldives police chief sacked