J&K mourns Vajpayee, Vohra to attend funeral in Delhi

Srinagar, Aug 17: Governor N N Vohra, his Advisors-- B B Vyas, K Vijay Kumar and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai-- and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam have expressed deep sorrow over the demise of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee passed away at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi on Thursday afternoon.

An official spokesperson said that Mr Vohra has left for New Delhi to pay homage and attend the funeral of Vajpayee, with whom he had served for several years, during the period he was carrying out a dialogue with all segments in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

He said the Governor remembered the former PM as an exceptional human being, an outstanding orator, a Parliamentarian par excellence and a political personality who commanded respect and regard from every quarter.

The Governor and his Advisors recalled Vajpayee’s historical initiatives to promote friendship with Pakistan and for the resolution of the issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Vohra, his Advisors, the Chief Secretary and senior echelons of the state government prayed for peace to the departed soul and decided that all government offices, boards, corporations, autonomous bodies and educational institutions shall remain closed on Friday and seven days mourning will be observed in the state in the memory of the departed soul.

The national and the state flag shall fly half mast during the state mourning on all the buildings and places where these are flown regularly, he said, adding that there shall be no official entertainment during the period of morning.