LONDON, Feb 7: Tributes poured in on Saturday for Bashir Ahmad, the first Muslim member of the Scottish parliament, who has died aged 68, his party announced.

Mr Ahmad, elected in 2007 to represent the Glasgow constituency for the Scottish National Party (SNP), died on Friday evening.

Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond led tributes to Mr Ahmad while his deputy Nicola Sturgeon said he represented “the very best of Scotland.”

“Bashir was... the kindest, most decent human being… it has ever been my pleasure to meet (him). And lastly – although he would have considered it to be first – he was the most patriotic of Scots,” Mr Salmond said.

The father-of-seven was born in India while it was still under the British rule and brought up in Pakistan after the Partition in 1947.

Mr Ahmad moved to Scotland when he was 21 to work as a bus conductor.

Later, he bought a shop, and then built up a portfolio of businesses, including shops, restaurants and a hotel.

When he was elected to the Edinburgh-based Scottish Parliament, Mr Ahmad took his seat wearing traditional Pakistani clothing and swore the oath in Urdu.—AFP