NEW DELHI: A high-level Pakistani delegation led by caretaker Law and Information Minister Syed Ali Zafar bade farewell to former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday at a funeral attended by foreign and national dignitaries.

Mr Zafar also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, continuing a recent exchange of good wishes even on a sombre day.

Foreign dignitaries who paid their last respects to the departed leader included Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

Chief ministers, opposition leaders, Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, governors and a host of other dignitaries attended the funeral of Vajpayee at Rastriya Smriti Sthal, a picturesque cremation site at the heart of the capital.

Vajpayee’s foster daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya lit the pyre as cries of “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” reverberated through the cremation site.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP president Amit Shah, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, veteran politician L.K. Advani, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ms Sushma Swaraj, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba laid wreaths.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the ashes would be scattered across the state in its major rivers. Chief ministers, including Nitish Kumar, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Vijay Rupani also attended the funeral.

Other political leaders at the funeral were Congress president Rahul Gandhi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and Congress leader Raj Babbar.

Scores of people gathered at the Sthal to pay their respects to the tall leader, who was cremated with full state honours.

Vajpayee, 93, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here last evening after a prolonged illness.

Amid sultry weather conditions, thousands of people walked along the over seven km-long route with some showering petals at the carriage. Heavy security was deployed along the route of the procession.

During the procession, people chanted slogans like “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” as Vajpayee’s cortege made its way from the BJP headquarters to the cremation ground.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2018