SWAT - Veteran Pakhtun nationalist and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Afzal Khan Lala passed away in Islamabad on Sunday due to prolonged illness.
He was suffering from liver disease and was under treatment at CMH hospital, sources added. He was 91-years-old.
The funeral prayer of senior ANP leader Afzal Khan Lala was offered here on Sunday. The funeral prayer was held in Darweshkhela area of Swat, which was attended by a large number of local people including top military officials, Corps Commander Peshawar, Lieutenant General Hidayat-ur-Rehman, General Officer Commander Major General Nadir khan and ANP leaders.
He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard. Senior Vice-President of the Awami National Party Bushra Gohar said that death of Mohammad Afzal Khan (Khan Lala) is a great loss for Pashtuns and now a champion of our national unity is no more, she expressed.
"The death of Khan's is not only a huge loss for Swat people but it's for the whole Pukhtoon belt," said by Umair Ahad.
"When I was a president of Swat Student Union University of Peshawar in 2007, Khan Lala was our chief guest in Award talent show and I never forgot those moments with Khanlala," he remained. It is pertinent to mention here that Afzal Khan Lala was the man who stood up against militants in Swat.
He refused to leave Swat when militancy in the valley was at its peak.
He preferred to live in the Taliban stronghold, Bar Durushkhela of Matta tehsil, and survived despite his house being attacked several times.
He was even injured in a roadside ambush but he stayed. Lala's determination was not only earned global applause but was also the 'Hilal-e-Shujat' from the president of Pakistan in 2009.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Malala Yousafzai also condoled the sad demise of the ANP leader Afzal Khan Lala and paid rich tributes to him for his struggle for peace in Swat.