Source: ismailimail

Source: ismailimail

Source: admin

Source: admin

courtesy: nasir a (toronto)

Source: admin

Source: admin

Source: admin

MHI at Kabul - Afghanistan

KABUL, July 24 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, accompanied by a delegation including three ministers, attended the funeral of King Zahir Shah who was laid to rest at the ancestral graveyard here Tuesday. The Prime Minister was received at the Kabul Airport by Minister for Higher Education Muhammad Azam Dadfur and Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Sardar Tariq Azizuddin.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani and Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao. An Afghan army contingent presented salute to Prime Minister Aziz on arrival.

Soon after his arrival, the Prime Minister went to the Presidential Palace to pay homage to the late king.

Pakistan was the only country that was represented at the funeral ceremony at the level of the head of government, signifying the traditional brotherly relations between the two countries.

The body of King Zahir Shah, known as father of the nation, lay in state at presidential palace enabling the delegations to pay last respects.

Later the coffin, which was placed at a gun carrier, was taken to the Eidgah and Prime Minister Aziz joined thousands of mourners and walked around a kilometer from the Presidential Palace to offer the funeral prayers.

The funeral was attended by thousands of people including notable Afghan leaders Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdurrab Rasool Sayyaf, Marshal Abdul Wali and others.

The body was later taken to the ancestral graveyard Tapa-e-Maranjan for burial beside the grave of his father late King Nadir Shah.

Delegations from 20 countries arrived here to pay homage to the late king, including Prince Karim Aga Khan, British Foreign Secretary and Indian Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz.

Sad Afghanistan readies for last king’s funeral

Previous Post: His Highness The Aga Khan with ex King Zahir Shah in Kabul

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan prepared Tuesday for the funeral of its last king Mohammed Zahir Shah, as the war-torn country bids farewell to the man known as the “Father of the Nation”.

Afghans were to hold prayer ceremonies across the conflict-torn country he led for 40 years, a period of stability and calm before decades of upheaval and virtually non-stop war.

Flags were at half mast across the country as President Hamid Karzai declared three days of mourning for the late king — the last monarch to rule Afghanistan and two days of holidays for his funeral and prayer ceremonies.

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Afther the funeral Zahir Shah’s body will be taken to a hilltop mausoleum overlooking Kabul where he will be buried beside his father, king Nadir Shah who was shot dead in 1933, and his wife Homaira, who died in 2002.

The mourning country expects ministerial level guests from Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Canada and Italy, along with the Aga Khan, the billionaire spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Shia Muslims, officials said.

Afghan television channels have replaced their usual shows with Koranic recitations plus shows featuring analysis of the king’s life and personality.

Tributes have also come in from around the world, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon saying that the international community was grateful to him for giving up claims to the monarchy in favour of a republican government.

Source: admin

Source: admin