SUKKUR, March 13: Mir Mehran Khan Bijarani, veteran politician and poet and one of the founding members of the Pakistan People's Party, died in a hospital in Islamabad late Saturday night after protracted illness. He was 88.

He leaves behind his wife, five sons and three daughters. His other wife, an aunt of federal minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, had died early.

The funeral would be held in his village of Diani near Karampur on Monday morning after arrival of his elder son, Imran Bijarani, from London.

As the news of his death reached the area, bazaars in Karampur, Bakhsapur, Kandhkot, Kashmore, Dera More and parts of Guddu were closed.

Mehran Khan was a close companion of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and he organised the party in Kandhkot and adjoining areas.

He served once as minister of state. He was twice elected to the National Assembly.

He was a poet and wrote poems in Balochi and Sindhi. He also wrote a number of books on the culture and customs of Sindh and Balochistan.

Mehran Khan commanded great respect among people in Kandhkot-Kashmore district and adjoining areas where borders of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab converge.

People of other communities also respected him and brought their disputes to him for settlement.