World Bulletin / News Desk

Pakistani religious scholar and veteran politician Mian Tufail Mohammad, former amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), passed away on Thursday after protracted illness.

His funeral prayers was offered at party headquarters in Mansoora at 4pm on Friday.

He suffered a brain hemorrhage on June 7 and was admitted to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital. He got hospitalized at Shaykh Zaid Hospital in Lahore. After staying in a state of coma for over he passed away at the age of 95.

He is survived by eight daughters and four sons and more than 40 grand and great grand children who live in Pakistan, Middle East and USA.

Various political and religious leaders have expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad demise of former JI chief.

International News said that "Governor Punjab Salman Taseer, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Provincial Minister Raja Riaz, Finance Minister Punjab Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, Senator Pervez Rasheed, PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and others" expressed condolence over the death of Tufail and prayed success for the departed soul in eternal life.

Also, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has expressed profound grief and sorrow over Tufail's death, Assosiated Pres of Pakistan said. In his separate messages to Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Munawwar Hassan and to family of Mian Tufail, the Prime Minister conveyed them his heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathies.

He prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in peace and grant strength to the family members to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.

Mian Tufail era in Jamaat-i-Islami 

He had started his career as a lawyer and worked as an assistant to Justice Mohammad Sharif in 1938 in Jalandhar but returned to Kapurthala State in 1939. Mian Tufail got married in 1942 and Allah Almighty blessed him with four sons and eight daughters. Mian Tufail Muhammad was one of 75 founding members of JI when it was formed in 1941.

At an all-India conference of the party held in March 1944, he was appointed its first permanent secretary general. From that moment, he was always in company of party chief Syed Abul Aala Maududi.

Except for periods of imprisonment during various regimes, he worked as JI's secretary general till 1965. From 1966 to 1972, he acted as the West Pakistan party chief and when Syed Abul A'la Maududi quit as the JI chief in October 1972 due to poor health, Mian Tufail was elected the new chief. He retained the position for two more terms.

He served the party in that capacity for two more terms. He was one of the nine leaders of various parties who were tried under the Official Secrets Act during the Ayub regime.

In 1965, a combined opposition was organised against Gen Ayub and Mian Tufail was among its central leaders. He represented his party in the Pakistan Democratic Movement and the Democratic Action Committee.

The Jamaat, under his leadership, developed romance with the army during the 1971 war, especially in East Pakistan. He was an ardent supporter of dictator Gen Ziaul Haq's so-called Islamisation. In 1987, he resigned on health grounds and Qazi Hussain Ahmad was elected to head the party.

He had been invited several times by foreign leaders, such as former president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser, to advise on political conflicts as a widely respected religious leader. He also led the first delegation of Muslim world leaders to Tehran after the formation of the Islamic government there in 1979.

Mian Tufail did not support his successor's attempts to give a popular colour to the party and said his policies were against the nature of the Jamaat.

He confined himself to research work of the Idara-e-Ma'arif-i-Islamia in Mansoora.

A translation of Kashaf Al Mahjub and 'Inviting towards Islam and its Requirements', co-authored with Syed Maududi and Amin Ahsan Islahi, were his prominent works.