Srinagar, Mar 1 (PTI) Former Jammu and Kashmir minister and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Qazi Mohammad Afzal died due to prolonged illness on Friday. He was 76.

"With heavy heart we announce the tragic demise of our Senior leader & Ex-Cabinet Minister Qazi Mohammed Afzal Sahab," THE PDP announced on Twitter.

Afzal was admitted at the SKIMS hospital here, where he breathed his last at around 8.00 pm, doctors said.

Afzal shot to fame after he defeated then National Conference president Omar Abdullah from Ganderbal assembly segment in the 2002 assembly elections.

"His contributions towards the party & the people of this state have been immense. We pray for eternal peace to his departed soul & strength to the bereaved family," the PDP said.

Although he was a first-time MLA, Afzal was given a cabinet berth in the PDP-Congress coalition government that was headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. 

Afzal unsuccessfully contested the 2008 and 2014 assembly elections as a PDP candidate. PTI

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