Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s body in Basti Abdullah village before the funeral on Thursday. (AFP)

Islamabad, July 12 (Reuters): Grieving relatives and villagers buried rebel Pakistani cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi today at Basti Abdullah village in Punjab province.

The burials took place a day after commandos killed the last few gunmen hiding in the ruins of the Lal Masjid, including Ghazi.

His elder brother Abdul Aziz led the prayers before the cleric’s body was buried.

Mourners smashed the coffin’s glass lid and tore a white cloth from the corpse’s face to see if it was really that of the cleric. There were chants of “al Jihad” as prayers were read for Ghazi. Aziz said the deaths would push Pakistan towards an Islamic revolution.