Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 22: Former minister and PDP leader Sofi Ghulam Mohiuddin died at his ancestral home in Handwara area of Kupwara district this morning.
He was 67.
Sofi breathed his last at 5.00 am today after a prolonged illness, a PDP spokesman said.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Sofi was associated with Peoples’s Conference headed by Abdul Gani Lone for a long time and was member of the supreme council of the party when it was part of undivided Hurriyat Conference.
His decision to contest the Assembly elections as an independent from Handwara in 2002 was one of the main reasons for the vertical split in Hurriyat as hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani accused People’s Conference of fielding proxy candidates in violation of the constitution of the separatist amalgam.
After winning the Assembly elections, Sofi became part of a loose coalition of 13 independent MLAs, who formed the now-defunct People’s Democratic Forum, to join the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led PDP-Congress Government in the State.
He was the Minister for Forests and Environment.
Sofi joined the PDP in 2008 but could not win any election after that.
Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has condoled the demise of Sofi Ghulam Mohi ud Din.
The Chief Minister recalled his contribution as a Minister from 2002 to 2005 during which he worked a lot for the development and welfare of the people, particularly of Handwara area. “Afterwards as a leader of the Party, he worked tirelessly for strengthening PDP at the grass root level in Handwara and Kupwara”, she said in her condolence message.
Mehbooba Mufti has conveyed her heartfelt sympathies to the family of the late leader and prayed for eternal solace to his soul.
PDP vice president Mohammad Sartaj Madni expressed grief over Sofi’s demise.
In a condolence massage, Madni said Sofi was a dedicated socio-political figure who had done a lot for needy and deserving people in the state in general and hilly district of Kupwara in particular.
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