PESHAWAR: Former federal minister Omar Khan Afridi was laid to rest in his native Babri Banda village of Kohat district on Friday.

The 87-year-old had passed away a day ago.

He was the father of Supreme Court Justice Yahya Afridi and had also served as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary.

The people attended the funeral in large numbers, including Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad Khan, Supreme Court and high court judges, politicians, current and former bureaucrats, lawyers and people from other walks of life.

Mr Omar, who had served as the minister for interior, state and frontier region and narcotics control in the interim government of PM Malik Meraj Khalid, belonged to the Adamkhel branch of Afridis.

He was born in London, UK, in Jan 1934. He had obtained education in Presentation Convent Murree, Bishop Cotton School Shimla (India), Karachi Grammar School, and Victoria College, Alexandria (Egypt).

Mr Omar had joined the Army as a cadet in the Pakistan Military Academy and was awarded the Sword of Honour and Norman Gold Medal. He was commissioned as an officer in March 1954 and joined his regiment, Probyn’s Horse, as a second lieutenant. He had left the Army on being selected for civil service in 1960.

Mr Omar served as the political agent in South Waziristan from 1968 to 1971 and deputy commissioner of Mardan before being posted as the secretary of the home and tribal affairs department.

He had also served as Balochistan’s additional chief secretary of the planning and development department and the commissioner of Lahore division.

He had also served as the administrator of Islamabad Capital Territory before being made KP’s chief secretary.

His last posting to the civil service was as the secretary to the country’s president. He retired in 1994.

Mr Omar wrote two books titled ‘Pukhtanah: a concise account’ and ‘Mahsud Monograph’.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2021