Karachi, Aug. 2 : Former federal minister and the chieftain of the Pakistani Hindu Sodha Thakur Rajput, and founder of the Pakistan Hindu Party, Rana Chander Singh passed away in a hospital here. He was 78.

Singh was unwell ever since he had a paralytic attack in 2004.

A close friend of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Singh was elected to the National Assembly four times between 1980 to 1990.

He parted ways with the PPP and formed his own party, the Pakistan Hindu Party (PHP) in 1990.

Several political leaders, friends and relatives gathered at his residence in Karachi to bid farewell to the departed soul, The Daily Times reports.

Singh’s body will be taken to his native village, Rana Jageer, in Umerkot District for the last rights. (ANI)