NEW DELHI, July 8 Maulana Syed Abdullah Bukhari, the former Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Delhi, died on Wednesday morning, according to a statement issued by the secretariat of the present Shahi Imam, his son Syed Ahmed Bukhari. He was 87.

Maulana Abdullah Bukhari was the 12th Imam of the historic mosque.

One of India's most outspoken Muslim leaders, Maulana Abdullah Bukhari was born in Rajasthan. He studied at Madressah Abdur Rab and got Dars-i-Nizami.

Jama Masjid spokesperson Amanullah Khan said that Maulana Bukhari passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he had been admitted for weeks.

Maulana Bukhari rose to prominence in the 1977 Lok Sabha election when he campaigned against the Congress party to protest against the forced sterilisation drive in parts of Old Delhi by the then Congress government.

CONDOLENCE Pakistan's Foreign Office expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Maulana Bukhari.

“We are deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing away of Maulana Syed Abdullah Bukhari. In his death, India has lost a noted religious figure,” the FO spokesman said.—APP