United States: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un (We belong to Allah
It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Ambassador Yusuf Buch, a real freedom fighter and true legend. He passed away today on Friday, May 24, 2019, at 5.30 p.m. (New York Time).
May Allah (s.w.t) place his soul in Jannatul Firdous and may He give Sabr to the family. Ameen.
Jannazah prayer will be held at Makkah Masjid, Brooklyn, New York. The date and timings will be announced later.
Later his body will be transported to Pakistan to be buried in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir.
Ambassador Buch was a living encyclopedia on Kashmir. He lived an illustrious life of courage and dedicated his life for the cause of Kashmir.
Ambassador Buch, at the end of his scholastic career, passed a competitive examination to win a place in what was called the government’s superior service. But the radical overhaul which was the sequel to the liquidation of the colonial order affected Buch directly; from being a privileged government official, he became a political prisoner as he was vocally among the opponents of the feudal ruler’s decision to accede to India and to obtain India’s military intervention against the people’s rebellion. This led to his being exiled to Pakistan through a compulsory exchange of war and political prisoners in 1949.
Ambassador Buch came to the United States in 1953 as a winner of an International Essay Contest sponsored by the United Nations. Later, worked as a correspondent at the United Nations. Also, run a Free Kashmir Centre in New York from 1957 to 1972. He was the Senior Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General for over 18 years.
He was also the Minister of Information of late Z.A. Bhutto’s administration and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Switzerland.
For more information, please contact; Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai at: 1-202-607-6435 or gnfai2003@yahoo.com
