QUETTA: Amidst grief and sorrow, the elderly Baloch nationalist ideologue, Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri was laid to rest in Quetta on Thursday.

Nawab Marri's funeral prayer was offered in New Kahan, located in Western suburb of Quetta.

Earlier, the body of Nawab Marri was brought to Hockey Stadium Quetta for funeral prayers.

However, political workers opposed the location of the funeral prayers, after which the dead body was shifted to New Kahan for the burial.

Prominent among those who attended the funeral prayer were the son of Nawab Marri, Nawabzada Jangaiz Marri, Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, former chief minister Humayoun Khan Marri, Baloch nationalist leader Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Chairman Voice for Baloch Missing Persons Mama Qadeer Baloch, Central Secretary Information Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and Agha Hassan Baloch.

Thousands of Baloch nationalist workers participated in the funeral prayers. Political workers chanted full-throated slogans in support of the Baloch nationalists movement.

Strict security measures were adopted by the administration to avert any untoward incident on the eve of the funeral prayers.

Nawab Marri died in Karachi after protracted illness at the age of 86.

He was born in 1928 and became the Chieftain of the Marri tribe in 1950. Throughout his career, Marri saw many ups and downs. He spent more than a decade in exile in neighboring Afghanistan.

He was elected as member national assembly in 1970 and was arrested in the aftermath of the removal of the then outlawed National Awami Party government in Balochistan.

He was sent to jail in the famous "Hyderabad Conspiracy Case" along with Pashtun nationalist leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Baloch nationalist leader, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, Sher Muhammad Marri and other leaders.

Nawab Marri left Pakistan for Afghanistan after being released from jail during former military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's tenure.

He came back to Pakistan in the early 1990s after the downfall of the communist government in Afghanistan.

After his return from Afghanistan, Nawab Marri launched Baloch Haq Tawar.

He was arrested in 2000 in connection with the murder of Justice Nawaz Marri case. Subsequently he was set free and had been living in Karachi for the last 12 years.