Delhi Police help perform last rites of retired major general of Afghanistan Army

The Delhi Police helped perform the last rites of a 71-year-old retired major general of Afghanistan Army who died of Covid-19. Mohd. Karim Wardak, a decorated army officer, had come to the national capital to get his wife treated for cancer at a city hospital. He was buried at Delhi gate graveyard, the police said.

Wardak, a popular tribal leader of Afghanistan, had come to India on April 21 and was staying at a hotel in old Delhi’s Nabi Kareem area. His wife had tested positive for Covid-19. While he too had mild symptoms, he did not get himself tested. The couple were to board a flight back home on April 24, said an official of the Central district police, who helped bury him.

According to the police, while Wardak, with the help of Afghan embassy, was successful in sending his wife back to Afghanistan, he was left behind and succumbed to the disease a day later at the hotel where he was staying.

Police had received a call on April 23 regarding his death. “His wife tested positive on April 21, but Wardak did not get tested himself. He had some mild symptoms, and with the help of Afghan Embassy, his wife was sent to Afghanistan,” a senior police officer said.

After receiving the call, police rushed to the spot and a sub-inspector was asked to handle the case.

“Police coordinated with the Afghan embassy and connected with his son Mohd. Nasser Noorzad, who said he was unable to come to India for his father’s last rites. Senior officials of the Delhi Police coordinated with the Ministry of Extra Affairs (MEA) to contact the embassy for help, and the Afghan embassy deputed one Major Atiqul Rahman to perform his last rites,” the police official said. Wardhak’s samples were taken at the time of preserving his body, which tested positive for Covid.