KARACHI - PPP founding member and veteran politician Meraj Muhammad Khan passed away on the night between Thursday and Friday. He was 77. Meraj was suffering from a respiratory illness for a long time. His funeral prayers were offered after Friday prayers in Karachi which were attended by people from all walks of life, including politicians.
Meraj was a close aide of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and contested general elections of 1970 on a PPP ticket from Karachi. He left the PPP after developing differences with the PPP chairman. In 1998, he joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and resigned in 2003 citing differences with Imran Khan. He then joined Mazdoor Kisan Party, which later merged with the Communist Party of Pakistan to form the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party. Meraj Khan was born on October 20, 1938 in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, to an educated family of Pashtun origin.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid and leaders of different political parties, civil society and media offered condolences on the demise of the senior politician.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Mairaj Mohammad Khan and paid him rich tributes for his struggle for democracy and the downtrodden people of Pakistan.
In a condolence message, the PPP chairman said that from a student leader to close companion of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and a democratic worker, the life of Mairaj Mohammad Khan was a reflection of an undaunted struggle followed by principles. He said that death of Mairaj Mohammad Khan was a great loss to the democratic forces and the vacuum created will hardly be filled.
Bilawal expressed sympathy with the members of his bereaved family and followers and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and fortitude to his bereaved family and friends to bear this irreparable loss. Other PPP leaders also hailed the services of the late politician.