Mehbooba Mufti to attend Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral after official invite
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Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said on Thursday she will travel to Tehran to attend the state funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei after receiving an official invitation from the Iranian government.
Mufti told reporters she had been invited as a distinguished guest of India and called the invitation “an immense honour” and a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to pay her last respects.
The invitation was sent by Mohseen Qummi, director of the International Relations Department in the office of the Supreme Leader, and asked Mufti to attend the funeral rites in Tehran from July 3 to 6, the letter said. Iranian authorities have declared a national mourning period and are holding an extended state funeral across several cities.
State ceremonies will include a 24-hour lying-in-state at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran from July 4, commemorations in the holy city of Qom on July 7, and a final burial procession and interment at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad on July 9. Officials have deployed extensive security measures and restricted movements in major urban centres to manage expected crowds.
Mufti did not provide travel details but said she would leave for Tehran to pay tribute to the late supreme leader.
(Inpurs from IANS)