Ajmal Khattak, a veteran Pakistani politician and once a close confidant of 'Frontier Gandhi' Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and a member of the Quit India Movement, has died at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness. Khattak, who was a former president of the Awami National Party, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Akhora Khattak in Nowshera district of North West Frontier Province on Monday afternoon. The funeral of the popular leader was attended by thousands of people from across the country and Afghanistan. People from all walks of life paid tribute to the political and intellectual services of Khattak, who was also a well-known poet. Khattak was associated with the Indian independence movement against the British in the NWFP. He also gained a large following as an eminent writer, Pashto poet and philosopher. He began his political career during the Quit India movement after being influenced by Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and his Khudai Khidmatgar movement.