Funeral prayers of legendary comedian Umer Sharif offered in Karachi

Hundreds of fans, political and social leaders gathered to bid farewell to the king of comedy

KARACHI:

Funeral prayers of legendary comedian Umer Sharif were offered on Wednesday, hours after his body reached Karachi from Germany.

The prayers were led by Allama Bashir Farooqi and were attended by a large number of people, including political and social leaders, as well as people from the entertainment industry.

He will be buried in the cemetery adjacent to the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

According to reports, the funeral prayers were supposed to be offered at 3pm, however, they got delayed as throngs of people kept making their way to attend the veteran comedian's last rites.

According to SSP South, special security arrangements had been made for the occasion. More than 200 police personnel were deployed on security duty.

"Security was also beefed up on the route from Umer Sharif Park, Clifton to Abdullah Shah Ghazi's shrine. Funeral prayers were held at the park where a bomb disposal squad was also deployed," the SSP said.

Earlier today, Sharif's body was handed over to his family after it reached Karachi from Germany via Turkish Airlines flight TK708.

Sharif's wife, Zarin Ghazal, and Pakistani Consul General Amjad Ali accompanied the body to Karachi. The deceased comedian's friends and family members received the body at the airport after completion of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)'s ground handling processes.

Read Pakistani artist pays ‘salty tribute’ to legendary comedian Umer Sharif

Sindh Minister for Information and Labour Senator Saeed Ghani also reached the cargo terminal and expressed his condolences to Sharif's family.

Emotional scenes were witnessed at the cargo terminal as Sharif's son, Jawad Umer, and other friends overcame with emotion.

وزیر اطلاعات و محنت سندھ @SaeedGhani1 سعید غنی نے کراچی ائیر پورٹ کارگو ٹرمینل سے لیجنڈ اداکار عمر شریف کی میت ان کے صاحبزادوں کے ہمراہ وصول کررہے ہیں pic.twitter.com/y10WcrmirF

— Minister Information & Labour Sindh (@MinisterSindh) October 6, 2021

 

Addressing the media outside the airport, Ghani stated that the late comedian was an asset to Pakistan and had earned global recognition for the country.

He further informed that the body had been shifted to the Edhi morgue from the airport and will soon be transferred to his home.

“I am in touch with Umer Sharif's family. The District Municipal Corporation South has been fully activated. All arrangements for the payment of his funeral have been completed,” the minister said.

Ghani also stated that an institution will be named after the late comedian that will continue to function and remind people of Sharif.

The comedy king passed away on Saturday at the age of 66 years after a prolonged illness.

The artist was set to resume his journey to the United States for medical treatment three days after his stay in Germany. He was admitted to a hospital in Germany’s Nuremberg on September 29 as his health condition deteriorated during the flight to the US.

Earlier, the departure of the comedian for treatment abroad was postponed due to his critical health. His blood pressure lowered while he was undergoing dialysis.