Residents attend the funeral of Crown Prince Naif, inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca June 17, 2012. (R)
Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud performed, together with other worshippers, at the Holy Mosque in Makkah yesterday, funeral prayer for Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior.
The funeral prayer was also performed by Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz; Prince Miteb bin Abdulaziz; Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz; Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense; Prince Mamdouh bin Abdulaziz; Prince Abdul-Ilah bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the King; Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Interior; Prince Mashhor bin Abdulaziz; Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; a number of princes; Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a number of Ulema, sheikhs, ministers and senior civil and military officials.
Prince Naif was buried at Al-Adel Graveyard in the holy city, as per his last wish. It was taken to the graveyard in an ambulance soon after the funeral prayer at the Haram Mosque, which was attended by more than a million people including princes, ministers and a large number of pilgrims.
King Abdullah received condolences from world leaders including King Abdallah of Jordan, Egyptian military ruler Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, President Idriss Déby of Chad, Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez Al-Tarawneh and Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, King Hamad of Bahrain Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, OIC Secretary-General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby also attended the funeral.
Prince Naif was the kingdom’s interior minister for 37 years, and was instrumental in neutralizing Al-Qaeda terrorists in the Kingdom. He was appointed crown prince last year following the death of Prince Sultan and became second deputy premier in 2009.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz prays during the funeral of Crown Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz in the Grand Mosque, in the holy city of Mecca, on June 17, 2012. (AFP)
A man cries during the funeral of the Saudi late Crown Prince Naif bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud inside the Grand Mosque, in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP)