Former Pakistani president laid to rest

Former Pakistani President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was laid to rest on Friday evening in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Khan, 91, passed away on Friday morning after suffering from pneumonia for three months. He was born on Jan. 20, 1915 in the Bannu district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province to a family of the Pashtun origin.

Khan served at several key posts of Pakistan. He was the chairman of senate in 1988 and made the president after the death of his predecessor former President General Ziaul Haq on Aug. 17, 1988.

In 1993, Khan was forced to resign from his office due to differences with Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister at the time.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have expressed their grief and sorrow over the death of Khan.

In his message to the family of the late president, Musharraf said that Khan had a long and distinguished career and served the country as the president as well as a civil servant in different capacities. He was an honest, upright person and dedicated to the service of Pakistan, Musharraf said.

Aziz in his message said that late Khan's contributions to Pakistan would long be remembered.

Source: Xinhua