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Transition: PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab passes away
Wahab held many key positions in the PPP and was a close aide of Benazir Bhutto.
She was in a critical condition at an intensive care unit of a private hospital.
KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Fauzia Wahab passed away at a private hospital in Karachi on Sunday.
She went into a coma after remaining in critical condition at an intensive care unit.
Her condition deteriorated on Saturday night owing to the complications after her primary gall bladder surgery.
Two more surgeries were performed in order to control her internal bleeding and other complications. She has been admitted to the Orthopedic Medical Institute (OMI) for the past 23 days, said Wahab’s son, Murtaza.
She underwent a Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) last night.
According to the physician, she was gaining and losing consciousness and was having serious breathing problems.
Her internal bleeding had worsened the situation. She has even had a tracheostomy, an operation in which the neck is incised, making an opening in the windpipe in order to allow direct access to the breathing tube.
However, it was difficult to maintain her respiration as oxygen was not reaching her brain.
Wahab’s funeral prayers will be offered on Monday in Sultan Masjid, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), said Information Secretary PPP Sindh, Waqar Mehdi.
She is survived by four children.
A student of International Relations from the University of Karachi, Wahab made her way into politics as a student leader and by campaigning for human rights.
She held many key positions in the PPP and was a close aide of the slain leader of the party, Benazir Bhutto.
Condolences
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed grief and sorrow over Wahab’s demise.
In his condolence message, the president paid tributes to her services for the party, saying that she was a steadfast loyalist who braved difficult situations. Her services would be long remembered.
“She died while fighting to strengthen the democracy and democratic institutions,” the message said.
Zardari also lauded her services as party’s Information Secretary and for human rights in the country.
The president prayed for her soul to rest in eternal peace.
Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain also appreciated her contributions to democracy and said the political void created after her death can never be filled.
National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza and Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi condoled the sad demise of Wahab.
In separate condolence messages to the members of the bereaved family, Speaker and Deputy Speaker expressed their heartfelt grief and sorrow over the sad demise.
They paid rich tribute to her for her services in promotion and restoration of democracy in the country. They said that Wahab was a seasoned politician and legislator of high repute, adding that she rendered valuable contributions during her tenure as member of the National Assembly and that the vacuum created by her death was difficult to fill.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar expressed grief and sorrow over Wahab’s demise.
The minister said that she had played a significant role in legislation and debate sessions of the Parliament, paying tribute to her services for the party and in strengthening democracy in the country, adding that that they would be long remembered.
Talking to Express News, Sindh’s information minister Sharjeel Memon condoled Wahab’s death, calling her death a huge loss for PPP. He blamed the doctors for alleged negligence, adding that it was the family’s decision whether to take legal action against the hospital or not.
MQM senior leader Babar Ghauri, speaking to the media, condoled Wahab’s death, also blaming the hospital for alleged negligence.
Sharmila Farooqui, adviser to the Sindh chief minister, said Wahab was a fighter, both in her personal and political life.
Read the articles written by Wahab for The Express Tribune here.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly mentioned that Fauzia Wahab was survived by three children. The error has been rectified.
Read more:
FauziaWahab
Reader Comments (90)
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May God give her health & very long life! We all must pray for her health. There are very few bold women like her in Pakistan.
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OMG ! Gall Bladder surgery is a minor operation !! I hope she recovers soon.Recommend
She may have stood for corrupt people in the recent past but we should still pray for her speedy recovery as a humanitarian act. (Ameen)Recommend
May Allah give her health and bring her back to normal.Amen
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A lesson to the government that has
kept no proper federal agency for health administration and FDA …
Where are we living ?
Where PPP literally laughs at the problems of dengue
rather than come up with a federal solution .
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@blithe:
Federal solution, take health budget from Balochistan and spend it on Lahore ;like gas and other mineral wealth!!!!!!
Health is provincial subject!!!!!!!!!!!
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May Allah give her health
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She has been a good and CLEAN politician and I do wish that she has more time to be around and assist her party recover and regain its somewhat diminished popularity. In any event may God be with her. She is a good person, this Fauzia Wahab.
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Let us pray to allah for her health
RecommendMay allah give us good news about her health
AAMEEN
May Allah give her a speedy recovery.
Health is a provincial subject like education; the most neglected sectors in Pakistan. Just look at the allocations of provincial govts for the two most important sectors.
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ET should have learned a thing or two about responsible journalism from the recent “mediagate” fiasco. Not only is most of the medical information in this article vague/misleading but also a plain breach of patient confidentiality. A doctor is not supposed to discuss his/her patient with anyone except when summoned by the court and your “anonymous” source should be kicked out of his hospital and ET should clean up its act! None of the details mentioned in this article were required to explain the issue at hand. Disgraceful!
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may allah help her in this crisis.
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It is a sad reflection of the state of our hospitals and medical expertise in Pakistan. Laproscopic cholecystectomy is a simple day care surgery here in Canada and I have never heard of someone dying from it.
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god bless her.
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Fauzia Wahab is a great lady who understand the needs of the poor people of Pakistan.
I pray to Al-Mighty Allah for her health and speedy recovery.Recommend
May God give her good health quickly, ameen…
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May Almighty ALLAH gives Central leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and MNA, Madam Fauzia Wahab good, speedy and quickest recovery. Ameen.
GOD Bless Madam Fauzia Wahab. Ameen.
Khan
United Kingdom.
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Just goes to show how primitive healthcare is in Pakistan. Ms.Wahab should have gone abroad for treatment. Gall bladder surgery is an extremely minor and safe procedure even among our neighboring countries. What a shame !!
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@ Blithe
Agreed! No federation of the world can exists that has multiple agencies and standards of health. The PPP is not serious about peoples’ basic problems and rather than deal with them simply dumps it into the provinces lap.
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She has just passed away. May her soul rest in peace.
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if u see she had ibternal bleeding from the anticoagulants!!nobody thought about checking her clotting status before administrating her those meds!!!great!!
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May her soul rest in peace.
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ET, please change the topic of this news items as Fauzia Wahab is no more in this world.
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I recall those days when PPP was in opposition during General Musharraf’s rule.
Fauzia called me on phone after reading one of my articles that was published in one of the English dailies. She said that she want to visit my residence, but I said that instead that she should come to me, I would visit her residence to pay my respects and regards to her.
We were together for two hours during which time she served tea to me.
We discussed lot of issues which were faced by the people in the country. Before leaving her residence, I assured her that in the forthcoming elections, PPP is going to win the elections and will be coming into power.
The last I met to Fauzia Wahab when she attended the ceremony of a local Urdu daily ‘Aaj Kal” at Marriot Karachi.
She came and called my name from the back side and when I turned my back it was the great Fauzia Wahab standing and smiling.
With lot of other Pakistanis, I will ever miss Fauzia Wahab. She was a great lady with humor; understanding and have always respected the people.
At the time when I am writing these lines, I am burst into tears and pray to Al-Mighty Allah to rest her soul in peace and give her family strength to bear this irreparable loss of life. Ameen
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May her soul rest in peace.
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May Allah rest her soul in peace
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Innallahwainnaallayirajioon.
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May her soul rest in peace
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RIP Shaheed Mohtarma
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I see a few comments regarding the healthcare in Pakistan. Please remember, while complications are rare in western countries, they do happen here as well. If this was secondary to Laparoscopic Gall Bladder removal, recognition of an internal bleeder may not have been suspected, until too late. As simple as this procedure has come to be, this may not have been an act of carelessness, but an unfortunate incidence.
May Allah Bless her and comfort the loved ones.
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Central leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and MNA, Madam Fauzia Wahab was a great leader of Pakistan and loss of Fauzia Wahab is a great tragedy not only for her family but for Pakistan.
May Almighty ALLAH gives enough strength to his family to come over this difficult situation. Ameen.
May Almighty ALLAH rest her soul in Jannat-ul-Firdos. Ameen
Khan
United Kingdom.
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I am extremely sad on the death of a brave,confident and a true woman after my leader Ms Benazir Bhutto..Fauzia’s contribution for this country is not in doubt..we miss her a lot..May God bless her…ameenRecommend
Innalillahe Va Inna Illihe Rajiun.
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Inna Lillahi wa Inaa elahi rajioon
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she was bold,beautiful and,determined lady.she use to be worth listening in talk shows.Allah Rest her soul in peace,my sincere sympathy for the grieved family.
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At least she did not go abroad for the surgery, like Nawaz Sharif and Zardari. May her soul rest in peace.
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people may support her political beliefs but will always remember her as a brave woman!
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I don’t get it. The article’s headline reads, She passed away and the people are praying for her recovery. Anyways thats not the point. The point here is media is focusing on her political profile, as a common person, i am more interested to know, whether or not the negligence of the doctors will reach to its desired end?
May fauzia rest in peace. Ameen.
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First of all i would say that we should pray for her maghfirat. Next thing is that jese awam wese hukmaran muslat kar die jate hae Allah ki taraf sae . So we all can only Criticize on each other . We don’t want to help each other or find the solution. If you ask about the electricity problem , you will be answered to ask from your elected person. If disease spread in country again instead of sorting the problems and work together, again u see dirty politics of politicians. Its the duty of the elected government to sort the problems out. Goverment of punjab says ask from prime minister , prime minister says ask from government of punjab. Same in other provinces.Thats the extreme of Racism. We says that Europeans are racist but we are all racist. Before pointing out anybody we should see in our surroundings and on ourselves
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One of the best politiacians of the worst party of Pakistan passes away, she was one of the few people in PPP worth watching whereas others are just from the elite class who know nothing. May ALLAH grant her Jannah
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A great and tragic loss for Pakistan. Your struggle for rule of law and your role in politics will be always remembered. May her soul rest in peace. Inna lilah he wa inna lillah e rajeoon.
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Pakistan lost an honest and courageous lady. Rest in peace FW
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@mariam, initially this article was titled fauzia wahab slips into a coma, it was rewritten when the news of her passing away was received. the URL still has the old title in it.
@all those who r commenting on the sad state of healthcare in the country, a gall bladder operation IS a relatively minor operation – my mother had one around the same time as fauzia wahabs in liaquat hospital in karachi, which was also combined with a hysterectomy in a single operation. the combined operation was successful and after a couple weeks of very good post operative care she was discharged and is now home. the point is what happened in ms. wahabs case was an unfortunate incident and what is a relatively simple operation for one individual may turn out to be fatal for another individual. it is up to God to decide who survives what. may Allah rest ms wahabs soul in peace.
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Shocking
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Innalillahe Va Inna Illihe Rajiun
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Medical profession has become a business and PMDC has become private medical and dental council.Only medical colleges are growing in number for political point scoring and private business but hospital lack doctors.Doctors are less paid than MA/M.SC lecturers.Most places have no hospital or without facilities hospital.Most doctors are jobless except few who get job on shafarish by politicians.Instead of increasing further doctors through more medical colleges,give jobs to jobless doctors+improve training+stop private medical colleges+provide latest equipmentds to hospitals by only spending 5% laptop and BISP money
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Life is short… Our leaders should realize that they will be standing in front of Allah SWT and answerable for what they have done for their people on this planet. May Allah SWT forgive all her sins and grant Fauzia Wahab a beautiful abode in Jannah nad may HE grant sabar to her family members. May Allah have His mercy on her and all of us…. AmeenRecommend
I am sorry to hear that. To all those people who feel she should have been taken abroad for surgery, I feel that Wahab being a politician and a public’s person, should have been taken to a PUBLIC hospital (Civil or Jinnah?). Why spend tax payer’s money on airfare or medical transportation when we have such adequate and prestigious hospital in our country. After all, majority of our working class accesses those hospitals, so why cant she?
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INNA LILLAH
RecommendSHE WAS LESS OF A POLITICIAN BUT
MORE OF A WONDERFUL AND CHARMING
PERSON IT WAS ALWAYS A PLEASURE
TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO HER
MAY ALLAH BLESS HER
Allah is listening to prayers of Nation
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Rest in peace on great day!!
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@Humble Pakistani:
Very well said. I hope Allah forgives her sins. Very sad to hear the news.
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We in India feel very sad on demise of Mrs.Wahab..May her soul rest in peace..Its a huge loss to liberal society and pakistani nation as a whole..Recommend
Complications can happen in any surgery and they do happen in western countries as well.
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So sad, may her soul rest in peace!
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Pakistan People’s Party has lost one of the only honest leader it had in its folds, a great lady with great strength & moral courage May Allah rest her soul in haeven & grant the family to bear the great loss Ameen Sumameen
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V sad God bless her soul.
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May she rest in peace. Our so called leaders (of PPP and others alike) MUST use this sad occasion to remind themselves that sooner or later we all have to meet this fate, they should rather right all the wrongs before its too late
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SHE WAS A COURAGEOUS WOMAN…! MAY HER RELATIVES HAVE PATIENCE TO BEAR THIS LOSS…!
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When the time is up, you gotta go! Fauzia Wahab has gone and left a vacume that won’t be easy to fill. Her demise is indeed a big loss those who are for decent people in politics in Pakistan and it’s even a greater and irreparable loss for her party, but PPP is not my concern. Her death has made me sad because somehow it’s easier to trust the person Fauzia behind the political persona. Well, she is gone now, may Allah bless her soul with His choicest blessings. Good bye Ms. Fauzia Wahab, you’ll be missed by your friends and foes alike for the goodness of your person.
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Very sad…she was a good lady!!! May God bless her…
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Innalillaahey Wa Inna Ilayhe Rajiuun
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@vikram:
You are a good man Vikram. On behalf of most of the Pakistanis I thank you for your kind words which mean a lot to us. May there be peace, harmony and prosperity between the two of our peoples’. God Blees you. May Allah Bless the soul of our Fauzia Wahab and provide her higher palce in the Heavens. Amen.
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May Allah rest her soul in peace and bless her with heaven.
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There was something gunuine and down-to-earth about this lady. One of the best tributes paid to her just after she died was by Mr. Saad Rafiq who called her an honest politician.
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A very sad day.A brave human being left all of us.I don’t understand why when we need more than anyone else God decided to take her away.
RIP.
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@Yaida M: Do you not know that complications from surgery also occur here in the West? People have died from pulmonary embolisms and dic from even the most routine surgeries here too. My God help the illiterate awaam of Pakistan understand that complications from surgery can happen anywhere.
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@andleeb: I can llist many instances of people dying from laparoscopic surgery in Canada and even from relatively minor procedures. That’s why you sign a consent form prior to surgery indicating you accept the potential risks. And yes not only common duct injury but death has occurred several times from laparoscopic cholecystectomies in Canada. Perhaps you need to read Canadian newspapers a little more!
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She is survived by 3 sons and a daughter. Not 2 sons. Please rectify this mistake ET.
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May those who made her lie to the public understand what they are going to face one day.
As for babar ghaury and sharjeel memon . . . they have a lot to answer for and may that day dawn soon.
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May she rest in peace.
Gall bladder operation is an intermediate and not a minor operation. It is a safe operation but does carry a risk like everything else in life. It is the peri operative care that is lacking in Pakistan, and with a domineering private sector things are unlikely to improve in terms of medical provision as well as accountability.
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Didnt know her personally appeared to be a good person who believed in democracy RIP strength to her loved ones
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She was an honest lady. Many challenges came her way and she took them head on. This country has certainly lost an honest politician and an iron lady. May Allah SWT rest her soul in peace in heaven, amen! I cried for her today as she will be surely dearly missed. Its sad Pakistan is loosing good people to quickly first it was Mehdi Hasan and now Fauzia Wahab! :(
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I hope her death is not in vain. May her death give her party the inspiration and strength to reject their policies of corruption in favor of rule of law and fairness.
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I wouldn’t say I agreed with her political views, but you could see, she was a brave, hardworking and confident woman.
May her soul rest in peace and may Allah SWT bless her with heaven.
My condolences to friends and family, may Allah give you the strength to go through this difficult time.
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Innalillahi wainna ulahi rajioon
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A great loss for the country.
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@Anonymous:
How can an epidemic like dengue be a provincial subject ????
The 18th amendment was criminal in destroying
the country.
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I really feel sorry for this arrogant foolish woman. A timely reminder for all these treacherous politicians that its going to end one day.
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RIPRecommend
Surely, we belong to Allah and return to Him. May Allah rest her soul in eternal peace and give his family the courage to bear this irreparable loss. Aameen.
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good riddance!
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For those who believe they are going to live this forever and do whatever to profit themselves, they must know their demise is not too far away. Eventually we all return to Him. All I know about Fauzia that she was a stalwart PPP leader and supported the leadership for good and bad. I hope she hadn’t done that…Sadly her time has come and gone. May Allah be kind to her soul…Inna Lillahe Wah Innah Illahe Rajaon (We all belong to Him and return to Him).
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May Allah Bless her!
She was a brave lady!
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Her smile alone could light up a million hearts! What a tragedy !!
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A very sad day. May her soul rest in peace. Her death brings to the fore the sorry state of Medical practice in Pakistan.. I hope this serves as a wake up call for those in power and leads to an accountability process in Medical practice ..
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*Very Said News
She was Very good politician also have very charmed personality * she was bold,beautiful and,determined lady.she use to be worth listening in talk shows.Allah Rest her soul in peace,my sincere sympathy for the grieved family.
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A brave lady…We will miss you Fauzia sahiba…
Qatl Gahoon se Chn ker hamray Alam
Or Niklain gay Ushaq say Qafilay..
Rest in Peace..
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May her soul rest in peace.
When one dies, the angels write what people talk about the deceased as a testimony of the deceased behavior, so please i request you all to talk well about her. We should only remember that she was a mother and absolutely no one from us would want anyone to talk ill about our moms when they are gone.
Judgement of good and bad is our Creator’s right and let him deal with it, all we should do is help ease out Fauzia’s transition in the next world.
May Allah bless her and us and make us happy when we meet our ends.
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Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Elaihi Raji’oon
This is a great loss of loyal,honest and sincere political worker but I humbly request you PPP’s lovers,supporters and voters that please don’t declare her as “martyr” as has been seen in PPP’s and Bhutto’s families’ history.
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