Sharif, Shehbaz’s mother passes away

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and party president Shehbaz Sharif's nonagenarian mother, Begum Shamim Akhtar, passed away in London on Sunday.

She had left for London in February despite being unwell to be with Sharif, who is there for medical treatment since late last year.

According to PML-N leaders, Begum Shamim was almost 94 years old and seriously ill for the past several months but she wanted to be in London for the former premier’s cardiac intervention. They added that her condition had become critical since last week.

Her body will be flown to Lahore from London and she will be buried in the Sharif family's ancestral graveyard in the city.

According to party sources, Sharif and his sons are unlikely to come to Pakistan to attend her funeral prayers, which will arranged in Lahore by the PML-N supremo’s daughter Maryam Nawaz and husband Captain (retd) Mohammad Safdar.

The sources added that former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz and his son Hamza had been informed about Begum Shamim's demise in the jails they were currently incarcerated in.

The legal teams of Shehbaz and Hamza are consulting with the jail authorities for their clients’ release on parole to attend the funeral.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Jails and Colonies Minister Fayazul Hassan Chohan said Shehbaz and Hamza would be released on parole as soon as the required documents were received by the authorities.

The news of her grandmother’s demise reached Maryam, who is also the PML-N vice president, while she was present at the 11-party opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) rally in Peshawar.

She left the venue after apologising to the crowd for being unable to address the rally and requested party activists and supporters to pray for the departed soul and for the early recovery of her ailing father.

 

Later, in a tweet, Maryam lamented the government’s attitude following the demise of her grandmother.

“No government official was humane enough to inform me of my grandmother's death. I have requested Mian Sahib [Nawaz Sharif] not to come back [to Pakistan] at all. These are tyrants and vengeful blind people from whom no kind of gentlemanship is expected,” she wrote on her official Twitter handle.

Condolences started pouring in as soon as the news of the former premier's mother's demise was reported.

"My condolences and prayers go to the Sharif family on the passing of Mian Nawaz and Mian Shahbaz Sharif's mother," Prime Minister Imran wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's condolence message was issued by military's official media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), through its official Twitter account.

The army chief expressed “grief and heartfelt condolences” on the sad demise of Begum Shamim and prayed for the departed soul.

Expressing his sorrow, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said: "May Allah Almighty grant her a place in Jannah and grant patience to the mourners."

Bilawal's father and former president Asif Ali Zardari also expressed his grief.

Zardari offered his condolences to the ex-premier and the former Punjab chief minister, saying: "With the death of one's mother, children are deprived of unparalleled blessings."

He also prayed for her forgiveness and her ranks to be elevated in the hereafter.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani expressed his deep sorrow and grief and prayed for the deceased to achieve the highest place in Jannah.

He extended his condolences to the Sharif family and prayed to the Almighty to grant patience to the mourners.

PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf also conveyed his grief and extended his condolences to the family.

In a tweet, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal described Begum Shamim as a “very pious and brave woman”.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, PML-Q leader and former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, and his son Moonis Elahi were among several other senior politicians, who also expressed their condolences.

Begum Shamim’s husband, Mian Muhammad Sharif, had died in 2004 in Jeddah.