Ch Ahmed Mukhtar buried

LAHORE: Former defence minister and PPP stalwart from Gujrat Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar died here early Wednesday. He was 74. His Namaz-e-Janaza was offered in Lahore after which his body was taken to Gujrat for burial. Born in June 1946, Ahmed Mukhtar was the pioneer of Servis Industries. He got school education from Abbottabad and Saint Anthony, Lahore and moved to the US for higher studies where he got his master’s degree.

Ahmed Mukhtar started politics in 1990 and in 1993, he rose to fame after defeating veteran Muslim Leaguer Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Shujaat and Ahmed Mukhtar contested five elections against each other in which Shujaat won three and Ahmed Mukhtar won two. He was a member of Benazir Bhutto cabinet in 1993 and later in the 2008 he served as minister for defence.

Politicians across the divide including former prime ministers Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, MMA Nawab Yusuf Talpur, Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo and many others expressed profound grief over the death of Ahmed Mukhtar.

His Namaz-e-Janaza was attended by Chaudhry Manzur, Syed Hassan Murtaza, Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan, Munir Ahmed Khan, Ejaz Samma, Ashraf Bhatti and others.