4,000 attend funeral of GP who died after road accident

Dr Mohammed Ikram Malik MBE suffered head injuries in the accident in Pendle Street, Nelson, on September 7th.

Dr Malik (75) who lived in Burnley, served as a GP in Pendle for decades. He was also involved with community groups, including Building Bridges Pendle, People’s Enterprise and Empowerment Forum (previously the Pendle Pakistan Welfare Association), Pendle Vision Board, Pendle Community Safety Partnership and many others.

The funeral took place at the Ghausia Mosque in Clayton Street, Nelson, on Friday. Representatives from many of the organisations he had been involved in, along with Pendle Council, paid their respects. The funeral was led at the mosque and then at Nelson Cemetery by Imam Qari Khalid Mahmood.

The following day there was a special ceremony in his memory at Silverman Hall in Nelson.

There have been lots of tributes to his contribution to Pendle.

Mr Stephen Barnes, chief executive of Pendle Council, said: “Dr Malik’s funeral was a very sad day in our community. He was a man who had done so much to help the most needy in our borough and who had worked so hard to strengthen understanding and cohesion throughout our area.

“However, I am sure his family would have been pleased that so many people came to pay their respects from all sectors of our community.

“From business and commerce, the voluntary and community sector and the public sector, including the local authority and health sectors and many, many of the people he had helped over the years.

“He was a very successful GP and ran a very busy practice with his wife Raisa and it is astonishing that he found the time, energy and commitment to touch so many people’s lives over a long number of years. We will miss him.”

Coun. Mohammed Iqbal, leader of the Labour Group at Pendle Council, said: “It has been the biggest funeral for at least 25 or 30 years. There were between 3,000 and 4,000 in attendance, and people came from all over the country. He is obviously very highly regarded.”

Pendle Conservative county councillor Mike Calvert added: “He was a truly wonderful man who will be missed so much.”

Mr Dennis Mendoros, chairman of Pendle Vision Board, owner and managing director of Euravia and Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire, said: “Dr Malik has made an outstanding contribution to Pendle’s local community and he will be sadly missed.

“He was both a friend and a role model for local businesses and community leaders alike. All the Vision Board members would like to add their condolences to his family.”

Dr Malik carried out a significant amount of work to help build cohesion in the community and, in 1999, was given an MBE by Her Majesty The Queen for his efforts.

Dr Malik was walking from his surgery at Yarnspinners Health Centre in Nelson to the nearby mosque when the accident happened on Pendle Street. He was hit by a car and suffered head injuries.

He was taken to hospital at Blackburn and then transferred to Preston where he had brain surgery. He died five days later having never regained consciousness. Police are investigating.