NEWYORK: An eighty-year-old Pakistani-American Sher Khan, who retired after thirty-five years of service at the United Nations and died on his home unattended for more than three weeks, was laid to rest in New Jersey.
All arrangements for Sher Khan’s funeral and burial were made by his fellow employee Anand Kumar from the Hindu community, who also attended the funeral prayers.
Eighty-year-old Sher Khan had worked for the United Nations for thirty-five years and held at various positions prior to his retirement. He died in his own home, but no one knew because he lived alone at his home.
The police found his body from the house after three weeks of his death and it was transferred to the medical examiner however his body was no longer identifiable. The consulate was also contacted for the funeral and burial of the Sher Khan but no one came forward to perform this duty.
Anand Kumar Pandey, a fellow employee of Sher Khan, who belongs to the Hindu community in the United Nations Department of Management, came to know about his death and the entire situation. Anand contacted Al Rayyan Muslim Funeral Services and took the responsibility of bearing all the expenses of the funeral and burial.
Al Rayyan Muslim Funeral Service received Sher Khan’s body from the municipal government mortuary and performed arrangements for funeral.
During this time, the deceased’s non-Muslim colleagues were also present. Anand Kumar said that the deceased Sher Khan could not be contacted and after making several attempts, it was found that he was no longer in this world. He said that what we all did together was our duty.
The funeral prayers of Sher Khan was offered at the Mecca Masjid in Brooklyn after Friday prayers led by Imam Qari Osama, in which the deceased’s former colleague Anand Kumar, along with other non-Muslim workers and a large number of community members participated.
Later, the late Sher Khan was buried in a local cemetery in New Jersey.
