KARACHI, Dec 12: Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, the president of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, was laid to rest after Asr prayers on the premises of the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

Soyem will be held near the residence of the late politician at Khusro Park in Clifton on Sunday from 9am to 1.30pm.

The burial rites, including the lowering of the body into the grave, were strictly a close family affair.

The emotional followers of the Maulana had converged on the Nishtar Park in their thousands to offer the funeral prayers.

The prayer was led by Sahibzada Anas Noorani, the son of the late Maulana Noorani, at 4.30pm. Soon afterwards, an Edhi ambulance carrying the body slowly moved its way out of the Nishtar Park and headed for Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s Mazar in Clifton, the final resting place of the Maulana. The tearful mourners followed it in a long procession.

The security personnel helped in its safe passage. The administration had made elaborate arrangements to maintain peace.

The vehicular traffic was closed from Lasbela Chowk and Gurumandar. Only vehicles on their way to the Nishtar Park were allowed to go past the barrier. From Sharae Quaideen, the ambulance was rushed to the graveyard for burial while people in the procession were told to reach the residence of their leader, Bait-ul-Rizwan, located opposite the Mazar of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

According to analysts, the funeral procession was one of the largest assembly the city had witnessed in recent memory. People came from afar to pay their respects to the great religious scholar and politician known for his integrity and moderate outlook.

Prominent among those present in the funeral procession were Gaza University Vice-Chancellor Shaikh Muhammad Al-Sayyam, Farooq Leghari, Waseem Sajjad, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Syed Munawwar Hasan, Sardar Ali Muhammad Mahar, Akram Durrani, Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, Dr Farooq Sattar, Aftab Ahmad Shaikh, Maulana Sami-ul-Haque, Nisar Khuhro, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Kamal Azfar, Mamnoon Hussain, Zain Ansari, Pir Sibghatullah Rashdi, Sahibzada Fazle Karim, Sahibzada Zubair, Nisar Memon, Illahi Bux Soomro, Allama Hasan Turabi, Allama Prof Munib-ur-Rehman, Abdulla Murad, Omar Sadiq, Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh, Abdul Rehman Rajput, Osman Malkani, Pirzada Qasim and others.

The funeral procession, which according to an estimate was 10km long, started from the residence of the late leader at around 2.45pm. After passing through Schon Chowrangi on foot, the procession was on wheel. It reached the Nishtar Park at 3.45pm.