Pak PM's teacher Geoffrey Langlands laid to rest in Lahore

Major (retd.) Geoffrey Douglas Langlands, a former British officer and one of the country's most famous educators whose students include Prime Minister Imran Khan, was laid to rest here on Monday.

He died on January 2 at the age of 101.

Langlands, who arrived in Pakistan during the World War II and stayed in the country after the end of the colonial rule, has been honoured with Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Order of British Empire by the Queen of England for his contribution to humanity and education.

Among his students were Prime Minister Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

A large number of people from different walks of life attended his cremation at the Aitchison College where he served most of his life.

He was laid to rest at a cemetery in Gulberg, as per his will.

Major (retd) Langlands was buried in Lahore according to his will, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi told reporters after his funeral.

"Pakistan is my house and students are my family. I want to be buried in Lahore," Elahi quoted from Langlands' will.

Langlands devoted his life in service to the people and especially his adopted country Pakistan, where he taught english and mathematics for more than six decade.

In 1954, he began teaching at Aitchison College, one of the most reputed colleges in the country. In the late 1970s, he took up the job of the principal of the Razmak Cadet College in Waziristan, near the Afghanistan border.

After that he took over as principal of the Sayurj Public School in the city of Chitral in northwestern Pakistan.He raised funds to buy land for the school and expand it.

The institution was renamed after him as the Langlands School and College, where he served until the age of 95.

On his death Prime Minister Khan had said: "Saddened to learn of the passing of my teacher. Apart from being our teacher, he instilled the love for trekking and our northern areas in me - before the KKH (Karakoram Highway) was built."