PESHAWAR: Senior advocate and former deputy attorney general for Pakistan, Mohammad Khursheed Khan, died here on Friday due to cardiac arrest.

His funeral will be held today (Saturday) at 2pm at his residence on Old Jamrud Road, University Town, Peshawar.

Late Khursheed had remained a diehard activist and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party. He had served as deputy attorney general for Pakistan as well as deputy advocate general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP).

He was considered an outspoken person and had hit headlines in newspapers on different occasions for some unusual of his acts.

Before 2002 general elections he had filed nomination papers for NA-1, Peshawar, and was under pressure from his party to withdraw in favour of an ANP candidate. He had fired at his hand as a protest, stating that he could give his blood for Benazir Bhutto, but would not withdraw from the contest.

In 2007, he again assumed importance when he sprayed black paint on the face of advocate Ahmad Raza Kasuri at the entrance of Supreme Court. Mr Kasuri was appearing for General Pervez Musharraf in a petition of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and he had uttered harsh words against then president of Supreme Court Bar Association in a TV talk show, which had angered Mr Khursheed.

In 2010, he started community service at Sikh temples in Peshawar and other cities as a mark of solidarity with the Sikh community as one of its members was killed by militants.

He also visited India along with a delegation of the Supreme Court Bar Association and did community service at Golden Temple and other worship places there.

He was also known for his public interest litigations. Recently, he had challenged the increase in prices of bread in Peshawar.

He had also filed a petition against any move by the government to shift Dr Shakil Afridi abroad.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2019