August 02, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 29, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 1: Tens of hundreds of people attended the funeral of renowned personality and business leader Alhaj Ashraf Qureshi at the University College Ground here on Friday, a day after his body was fished out from Mangla dam.

The mourners included 10-Corps Commander Lt-Gen Mohsin Kamal, General Officer Commanding 12-Div Maj-Gen Zaheerul Islam, sitting and former AJK ministers, legislators, superior judiciary members, senior military and civilian officials besides people from all walks of life.

Lt-Gen Kamal, a resident of Muzaffarabad, later also laid wreaths at the grave of Mr Qureshi.

However, AJK President Raja Zulqarnain Khan and Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan were conspicuous by their absence.

Earlier, the time for funeral prayer was fixed at 11am but due to the prolonged post-mortem conducted at CMH Muzaffarabad it was deferred till 3:30pm.

Police sources told Dawn that the postmortem report established that Mr Qureshi had died of head injury caused by the strokes of hammer.

However, when his body was thrown into the river from a height, several joints were fractured after he fell on a pointed rock.—Correspondent