LARKANA: Basheer Qureshi — the chairman of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) who passed away in the early hours of Saturday — was laid to rest in Ratodero.

His funeral prayers were offered at the grounds of a government school in Ratodero where thousands of his relatives, friends, supporters and followers had gathered to pay respects to the nationalist leader.

Well-known leaders of Sindh Abdul Wahid Aresar, Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, Dr Safdar Sarki, Dr Qadir Magsi, Abdul Khalique Junejo, Ayaz Lateef Palijo, Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto, MNA Gul Mohammad Jakhrani, Ramesh Lal, Khursheed Junejo and Riaz Chandio were present on the occasion, as were the central leaders of JSQM, including Dr Niaz Kalani.

When an ambulance carrying Mr Qureshi’s body reached Ratodero from Sakrand, his emotionally charged followers and party colleagues began raising slogans to pay homage to their leader.

All the roads leading to the hospital were blocked due to the numerous vehicles parked on them. The vehicles had brought political activists and workers from across the country to the burial place.

POST-MORTEM: A team of doctors headed by Police Surgeon Dr Safiullah Abbasi performed the autopsy.

Dr Abbasi told Dawn that some samples taken from Mr Qureshi’s body had been preserved and would be sent for chemical examination to a reliable and reputable laboratory.

He said the reports on the samples would be ready within a fortnight. Once he had received the reports he would be in a position to say anything about the cause of Mr Qureshi’s death.

Talking to journalists, Dr Kalani alleged that Mr Qureshi had been eliminated “scientifically by those who could not stomach the nationalist leader’s popularity which was demonstrated during a rally in Karachi on March 23”.

He announced a 40-day mourning period for Sindh.

When asked who would succeed Mr Qureshi, Dr Kalani said the JSQM as a matter of routine elected its chief for a two-year period only. “We will sit down to elect our chief soon,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, the two-acre piece of land near the Ratodero bypass where Mr Qureshi has been buried has been donated to JSQM by Habibullah Jatoi.