KARACHI: A little after 4 p.m. on Wednesday [Oct 17], the mortal remains of Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan were laid to rest with full military honours by the side of the Quaid-i-Azam’s grave, amidst touching scenes… . The cortege, with its white gun carriage bearing the flag-draped flower-bedecked coffin drawn by men of the Pakistan Navy, was headed by contingents of the three armed services and followed by the Governor-General, Cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic corps.

The funeral procession which started from the Prime Minister’s residence … first went to the Polo Ground … where the Namaz-e-Janaza … was held, which was attended by over 200,000 people. At 1-30 p.m. … the procession wended its way to the burial ground … where hundreds of thousands of mourners joined the procession … until it swelled to about 700,000 by the time it reached its destination.

The coffin of the Quaid-i-Millat was lifted from the gun carriage by his Cabinet colleagues and high military chiefs and gently lowered into its last resting place, while his mother, Begum Liaquat Ali Khan and her two sons … had a last glimpse of his mortal remains.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2026