Senior ANP leader Haji Adeel passes away

PESHAWAR: Haji Muhammad Adeel, former senator and senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), passed away early Friday. He was 72.

The veteran politician breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Peshawar. His son Muhammad Adnan Jaleel said he died of complications arising from kidney failure.

Haji Adeel had been ill in recent years and was on dialysis due to his kidney disease. He was a diabetic.

He is survived by his widow and son Adnan Jaleel. His younger son Jibran Adeel died some years ago. His tragic death at a young age had deeply saddened Haji Adeel.

Adeel’s Namaz-e-Janaza was performed at the spacious Jinnah Park and was largely attended. People from all walks of life were present at the funeral with political workers outnumbering others.

The ANP workers wearing their customary red uniform and caps carried the coffin and performed security duties at the funeral. The ANP leaders seen at the Namaz-e-Janaza included Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Ameer Haider Hoti, Afrasiab Khattak, ANP central president Asfandyar Wali Khan’s son Aimal Wali Khan, Shahi Sayed, Jaffar Shah, Hidayatullah, etc.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and former governor Lt Gen (retd) Iftikhar Hussain Shah also attended the funeral. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Deputy Chairman of the Senate, workers from other political parties, lawmakers, government officials and notables of the city were also among the mourners.

Haji Adeel was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard on Friday evening.

The deceased was the son of Hakim Abdul Jaleel, who was a freedom fighter and had remained an activist of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan). Haji Adeel had studied at the Edwardes College, Peshawar, and other institutions and had great interest in the fine arts. In the past, he had been vice-president of the cultural organisation, Abasin Arts Council. He was also a businessman.

He was born in Peshawar to a Hindko-speaking family on October 25, 1944. He led an active political life and has won and lost elections. He remained member of the provincial assembly from Peshawar and served as minister of finance in 1993 and deputy speaker of the assembly from 1997-99. He served as member of the Senate from March 2009 until March 2015. Haji Adeel was the senior vice-president of the ANP and had also remained the acting president of the party in absence of the ANP head Asfandyar Wali Khan.

He was a knowledgeable and witty politician. He was well-versed in constitutional and economic issues and was a lively participant in parliamentary debates and TV talks shows. His death was widely mourned by leaders of different political parties and government functionaries.