Moulvi Iftikhar No More

Thousands bid tearful adieu

SRINAGAR: Thousands of grief stricken people joined the funeral procession of popular Shia cleric and senior politician Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari who breathed his last in Srinagar on Tuesday morning  following prolonged illness. He was 74.

Family sources said, Maulana died late Monday night at his flood ravaged Qamarwari residence where he had been shifted back two days earlier from Zadibal after his condition had deteriorated. However the announcement of his demise was made only on Tuesday morning.

A versatile orator Moulvi Iftikhar was suffering from liver cirrhosis and had undergone treatment in Delhi and the US for long time but his condition had worsened in past few weeks. 

Moulvi Iftikhar is survived by his widow, two sons and a daughter.

Upon hearing the news of his death, thousands of people thronged his residence at Qammarwari, some beating chests and some reciting elegies in memory of martyrs of Karbala.

The huge influx of mourners led the authorities to divert traffic between Bemina and Parimpora crossings, causing massive traffic snarls.

Many areas, dominated by Shia community, shut down as a mark of respect to the departed leader.

The coffin placed atop a truck was carried in a funeral procession which passed through Noor Bagh, Seki Dafar, Eidgah, Sazgaripora before reaching Zadibal. 

Funeral prayers were held at Imambara Zadibal and were led by Sheikh Mohammad of Kargil.

Prominent personalities present included Moulvi Muhammad Abbas Ansari and Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed besides other leaders of the party. Moulvi Iftikhar was later laid to rest adjacent to his father’s grave in Baba Mazar.

Born on April 26, 1940, Moulvi Iftikhar succeeded his father Moulvi Muhammad Jawad following his demise in 1957. Soon after he was appointed as president of Shia Association, a position he held for life. He later went for Islamic studies first to Lucknow and later Iraq.

POLITICAL CAREER

The four—time MLA from Pattan Assembly segment, Moulvi Iftikhar enjoyed a fanatic following amongst a large section of Shia community in the Kashmir valley.

Starting his political career in mid sixties, Moulvi Iftikhar was nominated as an MLC in 1973 on Congress ticket but switched to Janata Party in 1977. He contested against Begum Sheikh Abdullah of National Conference, the party he joined at the later stage.

He returned to Congress in 1980s and was chosen as leader of the Legislature party in the State Assembly from 1983 to 1987.

He was again elected to the state legislative assembly in 1996 on a Congress ticket and became a minister in the National Conference  government headed by Farooq Abdullah.

Moulvi Iftikhar joined the NC in 2002 and was elected from Pattan Assembly segment later that year but quit the party in 2006 to join the Peoples Democratic Party. He lost the by—election.

The Shia cleric won the election in 2008 on a PDP ticket and was nominated as the party candidate for the forthcoming assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.

Moulvi Iftikhar had also devoted significant part of his life building business interests in various sectors. He was facing several graft cases filed against him by the successive state governments.

Moulvi Iftikhar was thrice the target of unsuccessful assassination attempts. 

In June 2000 he escaped the explosion of a landmine while addressing a religious congregation at Gund Khwaja Qasim. The blast killed twelve of his followers. On 1 September 2000 he was again targeted by an IED explosion that killed two of his guards and a driver. 

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