Former president Mamnoon Hussain passes away in Karachi

Former president of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain has passed away at a private hospital in Karachi, his family confirmed on Tuesday night. He was 80 years old.

Arsalan Mamnoon, his son, told the media that his father had been hospitalised for the last two weeks to receive medical treatment for cancer.

Funeral prayer of the former president will be offered at Sultan Masjid in Karachi’s DHA Phase-V on Thursday (today) after Asr prayer, according to PML-N Sindh information secretary Khawaja Tariq Nazir.

Subsequently, the burial will be held at DHA Phase-VIII graveyard.

He served as the president of the country from 2013 to 2018.

Hussain, a prominent politician belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was first appointed as Sindh governor prior to 1999’s military coup d'état.

As a president of the country, he maintained a low-key profile and his role was rarely seen in the nation’s politics.

Read more: Mamnoon Hussain: A man of principles

Condolences poured in soon after the news broke out on social media.

President Dr Arif Alvi and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail expressed deep grief over the sad demise.

While offering heartfelt condolences on the sad demise, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said, “May Allah bless his soul & give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss, Ameen.”

Expressing his deep shock and grief, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif called the former president an epitome of grace, humility and nobility. “Pakistan has lost a great public servant and PML-N an elderly statesman. My heartfelt condolences go to his family,” he wrote on his official handle.

PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, while offering condolences to Hussain’s family, said he was a sincere man who served Pakistan with utmost sincerity.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the deceased was a very elegant man whose affiliation with Pakistan and the party was unshakable.

A brief profile

Born on December 23, 1940 in Agra, Hussain shifted to Karachi after partition with his father Azhar Hussain and other family members. Schooled in traditional religious education, the president completed his matriculation in 1958 and was awarded a B.Com Honors degree from the Government College of Commerce. Subsequently, he attended the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, from where he graduated in 1965.

Hussain, who remained associated with the Muslim League from the beginning, was introduced to formal politics by his close friend and mentor Abdul Khaliq Allahwala, a former member of the National Assembly in the 1960s. Quickly making a mark in the League, Hussain rose to become joint secretary of the party in 1967.

In 1999, he was elected as the president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) and was soon selected by Nawaz Sharif to become governor of Sindh in June 1999. However, Hussain’s stint as governor ended abruptly after less than six months, when the Nawaz government was overthrown by the then military chief Pervez Mushrraf.

During his political career, Hussain held important portfolios in the party. He remained the provincial general secretary of PML-N and also served as party’s acting provincial president of Sindh chapter. He was PML-N’s central senior vice president and also served as an adviser to Sindh’s ex-chief minister, Liaquat Ali Jatoi.