Tributes have been paid to the ‘pioneering’ ex-councillor Mohammed Khaliq

Tributes have been paid to an ex-councillor and one of the borough’s longest-serving community workers who has died.

Mohammed Khaliq, 84, came to the UK in 1960 and settled in Blackburn two years later.

He would go on to involve himself in a number of community projects and groups, and stood as a councillor in Blackburn with Darwen in 1992. Mr Khaliq would remain a councillor for 12 years.

He helped to establish one of the first mosques in the town in the 1970s – the Masjid e Raza on Randal Street and also helped to set up the Pakistan Welfare Association, as well as supporting other faith organisations such as the Lancashire Council of Mosques.

A keen supporter of the Labour party for decades, he initially began canvassing for the party in the 1960s when Barbara Castle was MP for Blackburn.

In 2004, he was one of 10 councillors who threatened to resign as the country went to war with Iraq, saying the conflict ‘would be unjust and did not represent the people of East Lancashire and Britain as a whole’.

Cllr Parwaiz Akhtar, for Bastwell and Daisyfield, said: “I had known Mr Khaliq for over 50 years and I always found him to be very helpful.  It is a big loss to the community.  My condolences and prayers go to his family.”

Former Mayor Hussain Akhtar said: “It is a very sad day. I worked with him for nearly 40 years. He was chairman of the Pakistan Welfare Association when I was vice-chair. He worked very hard for the community.

Today is a very dark day for our community. The community will never forget the work he did when they needed him.”

In his final major interview last year, he spoke to his grandson for the One Voice Magazine. 

In it he revealed his life growing up in a village in the Jhelum district of Pakistan and then moving to the Karachi to work as a clerk.

He headed to the UK in May of 1960 and decided to settle in Blackburn two years later.

He said: “I stayed in London for about six months where I worked in a plastic factory. Later I moved to Bradford where I worked in a wool mill and then some time in Accrington working in a cotton mill.”

Speaking of his initial thoughts of Blackburn he said: “The town was okay; it was like all other northern towns. I did have some contacts already in the town which was good, and the people were generally quite friendly too.”

Mohammed lived on New Park Street and on Warwick Street, which was eventually demolished in 1979 to make way for ‘Waves’ swimming baths.  He had learnt to read and write English whilst he was in Pakistan.

He said: “English wasn’t a challenge for me. I could also speak Punjabi and Urdu. Being able to read and write meant that people who were not very literate would often ask me for support, and I suppose that is how I got involved in community work.

My main purpose for coming to the UK was to work. I already completed my education in Pakistan so that wasn’t something I was looking to do once I got here. Working life was rewarding but difficult due to the long hours. It was different to my time working in Pakistan and took time getting used to.”

After a brief period working in the textile industry, he began working on the buses as a conductor.

He said: “When I first came to Blackburn in July 1961 I didn’t initially register to vote because we didn’t know we needed to. Barbara Castle, who was the MP of Blackburn, came canvassing one day and introduced herself and her role. She introduced me to political activity. 

There were a number of challenges in those days including frequent attacks from the far-right so I became involved in local politics as an activist.”

Mohammed said the town has changed for the better – “Blackburn is a lot better now. In the 1960s the town centre was small, with no large stores. The bus station has improved massively; we now have a mall and market where previously there was a three-day market and an open market.”