Srinagar, July 14 (IANS) Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, the veteran National Conference (NC) leader, former Minister and younger brother of NC President Farooq Abdullah, passed away on Tuesday after a protracted illness in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city.

He was admitted to Paras super speciality hospital in Srinagar where he breathed his last on Tuesday afternoon.

He was the son of the legendary Kashmiri leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and the uncle of present Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Sheikh Mustafa Kamal completed his MBBS from the Sawai Mansingh (SMS) Medical College in Rajasthan’s Jaipur in 1962.

He served as a Minister in the state Cabinets formed in 1983, 1987 and 1996. He was member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 2002 and prior to this, he was a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council from 1983 to 1987.

He was 83-years-old and younger to Farooq Abdullah. His siblings include brother Farooq Abdullah and two sisters, Begum Khalida Shah and Suraiya Ali Matto.

Known as a soft-spoken, down-to-earth gentleman, Mustafa Kamal had no airs about his family background and was always accessible to the people. He died as a bachelor and had lived all his life in the service of the party and the people.

He mostly lived in Shadimarg forest area near Tangmarg where he lived in his house.

He would be seen accompanying ordinary people of Tangmarg area to government offices for their problems and even arrange appointments for the sick people of his area with the top doctors within Jammu and Kashmir and outside.

He is likely to be buried at the ancestral graveyard of the Sheikh family in Soura area of Srinagar.

As the news about his death spread in Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of people expressed grief and condoled Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah on this personal loss.

–IANS

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