Quaid-e-Kashmir and President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, passed away in Islamabad after a prolonged illness at the age of 71. His death was confirmed by Media Advisor Kamal Haider.
The funeral prayers for the deceased will be held tomorrow, Sunday, at 3 PM in his native village of Chechian, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, after which he will be laid to rest.
Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry was born on August 9, 1955, in Chechian, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. He received his early education in his hometown, completed his matriculation at Cantt Public School, Rawalpindi, and graduated from Gordon College, Rawalpindi. He later went to the UK for higher education, where he obtained a Bar at Law degree from the prestigious legal institution, Lincoln’s Inn.
He returned to Pakistan in 1983 and began his political career. Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry was elected as the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in 1996, and in 2021, he assumed the office of President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly nine times from his native Mirpur constituency.
The late leader also headed various political parties, including the President of the Azad Muslim Conference, President of the Liberation League of Azad Kashmir, President of the Peoples Party of Azad Kashmir, and President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of Azad Kashmir. He was known for vigorously and effectively highlighting the Kashmir issue on the global stage.
Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry represented the Kashmir issue at international forums, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the US State Department. He led historic Kashmir marches at Trafalgar Square in London, in front of the United Nations in New York, and also in Brussels, Dublin, and at the Berlin Wall.
He was the only Kashmiri leader permitted to visit occupied Kashmir, where he addressed a historic gathering at Lal Chowk in Srinagar and met with Syed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik, and other Hurriyat leaders, marking an important chapter in Kashmir’s political history.
Political, social, and public circles are expressing profound sorrow and grief over the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, and the Kashmiri people regard him as a brave, fearless, and sincere leader.
Read also: Famous Indian singer and actor Prashant Tamang passes away at 43
