JAMMU: Glowing tributes were paid to National Conference Patron Sheikh Nazir Ahmed at a condolence meeting held at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan and two minutes silence was observed as a mark of respect to the departed leader. Sheikh Nazir Ahmed expired wee hours of this morning at Super Specialty Hospital here, where he had been admitted yesterday.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Provincial President Mr Devender Singh Rana, former minister Mr Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, State Senior Vice President Mr Surjeet Singh Slathia, State Vice Presidents Mr Rattan Lal Gupta and Th Kashmira Singh, Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari, Dr. Kamal Arora, Babu Ram Paul, Mr Abdul Gani Malik, Th Rachpal Singh, Mr Aijaz Jan, Mrs Bimla Luthra, Master Noor Hussain, Mr Brij Mohan Sharma, Qazi Jalal-ud-Din, Dr Chaman Lal, Mr Bushan Lal Bhat, Mrs Vijay Laxmi Dutta, Mr Mohammed Iqbal Bhat, Mr Jagjeevan Lal, Haji Mohammed Hussain, Mr Gurdeep Singh Sasan, Mr Jugal Mahajan, Master Baldev Singh Bhau, Mr Satpal Lakhotra, Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, Mr. Abdul Gani Teli, Mr Taranjeet Singh Tony, Mr Dharamveer Singh Jamwal, S Surinder Singh Bunty, Mr Pradeep Bali, Mr Mohammed Ayub Malik, Mr Rajesh Bakshi and others.
Describing Sheikh Nazir as a towering leader who guided the cadre with his inspirational leadership during most testing times over the decades, the leaders while paying tributes to him said his passing away has created a void in the political spectrum of the State in general and National Conference in particular which is hard to fill. They asserted that the entire party cadre will work for strengthening the National Conference and making it a vibrant force to meet the challenges confronted to the State.
During the condolence meeting, the party leaders recalled the enormous contribution of Sheikh Nazir in shaping the National Conference and making it an effective tool to satiate the urges and aspirations of the people. They dwelt upon different facets of his life, saying his selfless contribution will continue to inspire the workers in all the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Earlier in the morning, the senior leaders paid floral tributes to Sheikh Nazir Ahmed, whose mortal remains had been kept at the Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan for workers to pay their last respects.