Mehbooba pays obeisance at Iqbal's mausoleum

Islamabad, Apr 2 (UNI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti today visited the mausoleum of Shair-e-Mashriq Allama Iqbal in Lahore to pay homage to the great poet, thinker and philosopher.

According to historians, Iqbal's ancestors were from village Kapran, who had migrated to Sialkote, where the great scholar was born. Iqbal, who always boasted of being a Kashmiri, was moved by the plight of Kashmiris. He used to introduce himself by saying,''The seeds of this flower are from the flower-gardens of Kashmir.'' Besides being a great poet and philosopher, Iqbal was also a jurist, a politician, a social reformer, and a great Islamic scholar. He visited Kashmir in 1920 to present his famous poem ''Saqi Nama'' at Srinagar.

While his primary reputation is that of a poet, Iqbal had admirers for his philosophical thought. He was called ''the most serious Muslim philosophical thinker of modern times.'' While in England in 1908, he was chosen as a member of the executive council of the newly established British branch of the Indian Muslim League. In 1931 and 1932 he represented the Muslims of India in the Round Table Conferences held in England to discuss the issue of the political future of India. He entered practical politics in 1926 and was elected as a member of Punjab Legislative Council.

The PDP president paying respects at the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal also visited the famous Badshahi Masjid.

UNI XC SYU KP2321