Hundreds of people gathered at a village in central Pakistan on Wednesday for the funeral of Amjad Hussain Farooqi, a militant described as a key link between al Qaeda and local militant groups. Farooqi's village, known not by a name, but a number -- 682/27-GB -- is located in Toba Tek Singh district of Pakistan's Punjab province. News of his funeral attracted hundreds of people from nearby villages and towns. His brother, Javed Farooqi, told Reuters police had informed him Amjad's body would be released to the family for the funeral later in the day. "I informed all our relatives and friends," he said. "But I don't know at what time his body will be handed over to us."As family members prepared for the burial and ordered a grave to be dug, people began arriving from the nearby towns, and the numbers had swollen to more than a 1,000 people by nightfall. They included both sympathisers and the curious. "It was a cruelty to kill Amjad," said one of his relatives, Qari Sanaullah, who said he last met Farooqi 18 month ago. "He was a loyal Pakistani and committed Muslim."
| " mean, there's lotsa people who're bloody-handed serial murderers! Why pick on him?" |