Srinagar: Former Hurriyat chairman and a prominent Islamic scholar of Kashmir Molana Abbas Ansari passed away after a prolonged illness at his residence here on Tuesday, family sources said.
They said Ansari would be laid to rest this afternoon.
Ansari was a moderate separatist voice and was for peaceful settlement of Kashmir issue. In 2004, he led the five member delegation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference who held a first-ever meeting with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Ansari was the last surviving politician from the Plebiscite Front era and was a champion of Shia Suni unity. In 1962 Ansari founded Ittehadul Muslimeen.
He also served as convenor of the Muslim United Front (MUF)- a coalition of political parties that challenged the National Conference in the 1987 assembly polls.
