LAHORE, July 14: Speakers at a condolence reference organized by various NGOs paid rich tributes to the services of the late Omar Asghar Khan for the cause of the poor and the have-nots.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Ali Asghar Khan, Qaumi Jamhoori Party secretary-general Zafar Mirza, Shakoor Mirza, Khawar Mumtaz of Shirkatgah, Mumtaz Tannoli of Sangi Foundation which had been formed by the late Omar, Muhammad Azeem, labour leader Gulzar Chaudhry and Muhammad Yaqub.

The Sangi Foundation announced establishment of Omar Trust in memory of the social worker-cum-politician. The trust would offer scholarships to needy students, establish libraries, schools and compile articles written by Omar as books.

Speakers threw light on various aspects of personal as well as public life of Omar who had worked for the formulation of the National Conservation Strategy and faced threats from timber mafia comprising government officials, corrupt politicians and contractors.

They said he had also launched a campaign against big dams and got changed the design of Ghazi Barotha Dam for the original design displaced a huge population.

They said he also trained the NGOs how to raise their voice against wrong decisions of the government and gave them a thinking about working on peace in Asia.

They claimed that Omar had been murdered and demanded a commission to probe his mystery death. —Staff Reporter