HARIPUR: Former National Assembly speaker and federal minister for foreign affairs Gohar Ayub Khan was laid to rest near the grave of his parents in the family’s ancestral graveyard in Rehana village here on Saturday.

He passed away on Friday evening in his Islamabad residence where he had been living with his sons, Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI general secretary, and Tariq Ayub Khan.

Besides hundreds of supporters and family members, political workers, including former federal ministers Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Babar Awan Advocate, Mohammad Sarwar Khan, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Sardar Yousuf, Malik Amin Aslam, Ijazul Haq, provincial caretaker minister Eng Ahmed Jan Khan, Sarwar Khan and retired army officers were in attendance.

It may be added that Gohar’s wife, Zebun Nisa aka Begum Zeb Gohar Ayub Khan, who was the daughter of late Gen retired Habibullah Khan and sister of Gen Ali Kuli Khan, had died of cancer in December 2015.

Gohar Ayub had also authored four books.

His son, Omar Ayub Khan, who was in the hiding to avoid arrest after May 9 riots, also attended the funeral prayers.

Earlier, in a video message from Gen Ayub Khan’s native home, Omar Ayub first shared his father’s profile and timing of his death, and later thanked all those who attended the funeral prayers or condoled his death by phone or text messages. He vowed to continue serving the constituents the same way in line with the advice of his late father undeterred.

However, it was not confirmed whether Omar Ayub had obtained bail from any court before showing up at the funeral gathering of his father.

According to prosecution records, he was facing more than one case of allegedly causing damage to public property, roadblocks and inciting the supporters against the government, but interestingly remained un-apprehended though most of senior leaders of his party were arrested and released, while some were still undergoing detention after the conviction of their party leader Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2023