Muhammad Athar Qureshi ( ; 1925 – 18 December 2000) was a prominent Pakistani politician and religious leader. A member of
Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fro ...
, he was also elected as a member of
Sindh Provincial Assembly from 1985 to 1988.
Early life
Qureshi was born in 1925 in the
Azamgarh district of
Uttar Pradesh, British India, and attended
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
. He migrated to Karachi along with his family in the early 1950s.
Political life
Muhammad Athar Qureshi became politically active at Aligarh University, where he joined student wing of the
Muslim League. Later, he became part of
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan under the leadership of
Abul A'la Maududi along with
Abdul Ghafoor Ahmed
Abdul Ghafoor Ahmed ( Urdu: عبدالغفور احمد ; 26 June 1927 – 26 December 2012) was a Pakistani politician who represented Jamaat-e-Islami in National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan in 1970 till 1977. He was a signatory an ...
. In the 1970s, he was elected as the General Secretary of the party. In 1985, he was elected as a Member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly, representing the
PS-84 Constituency.
He subsequently left Jamaat-e-Islami and joined
Tehreek-Islami along with
Naeem Siddiqui, serving as chief for the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Death
On the morning of 18 December 2000, Qureshi was walking to the Madinah Mosque outside his residence in central Karachi when he was assassinated in front of his residence in North Nazimabad, Karachi.
Funeral
Muhammad Athar Qureshi's funeral took place in Karachi and was attended by hundreds of party workers along with top leadership of known political parties of Pakistan such as
Pakistan Muslim League,
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan,
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
, and
Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan. He was buried in Sakhi Hasan graveyard in Karachi. On his death, several condolence messages were sent to his family by
Qazi Hussain Ahmed,
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
,
Pir of Pagaro VII
sd,
, image =
, caption =
, office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F)
, term_start = 1985
, term_end = 10 January 2012
, predecessor = ''Position established''
, successor ...
, and
Altaf Hussain (Pakistani politician)
Altaf Hussain ( ur, ; ; born 17 September 1953 in Karachi) is a British Pakistani politician who is known as the founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He holds United Kingdom citizenship and has been living in exile in the United Kingdom ...
.
References
[{{Cite web , title=Gunmen kill religious leader in Pakistan - UPI Archives , url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/2000/12/18/Gunmen-kill-religious-leader-in-Pakistan/3633977115600/ , access-date=2023-05-01 , website=UPI , language=en]
1925 births
2000 deaths
Sindh MPAs 1985–1988
20th-century Pakistani politicians
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan politicians
People from Azamgarh
Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Muhajir people
Politicians from Karachi