'Nawaz, Shahbaz may accompany Sharif's Body to Pakistan'
Pakistan Times Staff Report

LAHORE: According to Sharif family here, the dead body of Mian Muhammad Sharif will arrive here on Sunday late in the evening. It is learnt that first his body will be taken to Khana Kaaba in Mecca for funeral prayers and later there it would be flown to Lahore.

Funeral of Nawaz Sharif’s father would be performed on Monday at courtyard of the Mausoleum of sub-continent’s great sufi saint Hazrat Datta in Lahore at after-noon prayer before taking him for eternal rest in Sharif city at Raiwind, according to Mian family sources.

The funeral prayer was scheduled to be performed at the said place on Sunday which was later delayed until Monday due to non-availability of direct Jeddah-Islamabad flight. 

'Govt allows 10 family members'

Online news agency quoting government sources reported that the ten members of Sharif family have been allowed to attend funeral of Mian Sharif.

Besides Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif eight other family members including Hussain Nawaz, his wife, Hassan Nawaz, Abbas Sharif, his wife and daughter, Kalsoom Nawaz and Mariam Nawaz have been allowed to come to Pakistan for burial of Mian Mohammad Sharif in Raiwind. Shahbaz Sharif’s spouse is already in Pakistan.

The Sharif brothers have been allowed to come to Pakistan on the special request made by the Saudi government to President Musharraf. However the Sharif brothers would not be allowed to make any political statements or socialise. They would return to Jeddah after Rasm-e-Qul.

The family sources have conformably informed that the Sharif family was set to leave for Pakistan to attend funeral Nawaz Sharif’s father, who would stay here for three days.

Government sources have confirmed that if Mian family was coming to Pakistan along with Mian brethren they would be give free hand on that occasion and no hurdle would be raised to bar them from meeting any one here.

Benazir condoles

Meanwhile, Former Prime Minister and chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Ms Benazir Bhutto has condoled with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the death of his father Mian Mohammad Sharif who passed away in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday.

Ms Bhutto in a condolence letter addressed to Mian Nawaz Sharif wrote "the Pakistan Peoples Party and I were sorry to learn that your father Mian Mohammad Sharif has left this world for the next. May Allah bless his soul. The PPP and I share your sorrow, a sorrow that is compounded by the harshness of exile.

"Please accept deep condolences on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party and convey the same to other members of the bereaved family. Asif Ali Zardari joins me in extending our personal condolences" she wrote.

She also prayed to almighty Allah to rest the soul of deceased in eternal peace and to grant courage to the family members to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.

Telephones Nawaz Sharif

Later, PPP Chief Ms Benazir Bhutto phoned Mian Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah this evening to condole the death of his father.

Ms Bhutto condoled with Mian Nawaz on behalf the PPP and on her own behalf the death of Mian Muhammad Sharif. She said that the loss of one's father was a great loss and that on this occasion of personal grief her thoughts were with the Sharif family. She also prayed to Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and to grant courage to the members of bereaved family to bear the loss with equanimity.

Ms Bhutto urged the authorities to rise above politics and show compassion in such matters of personal tragedies and allow the sons and other near relatives of late Mian Muhammad Sharif to return to Pakistan for the burial rituals.

MMA leaders condole with Nawaz Sharif

The opposition leader and Chief of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman and Jamaat-e-Islami President Qazi Hussain Ahmed Saturday condoled with deposed ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and his family over sad demise of his father in Jeddah capital of Saudi Arabia.

 
Makhdoom Amin Faheem shares Grief

Chairman ARD Makhdoom Amin Faheem has condoled the death of Mian Muhammad Sharif, the father of former Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

Makhdoom Amin Faheem in a condolence message addressed to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his brother former Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, said that he was saddened with the news of the death of their father, Mian Muhammad Sharif. The loss of a parent is a great tragedy.

"My sympathies are with you at this difficult time. Please accept my heartfelt condolences and convey the same to other members of your bereaved family."

He prayed to Almighty Allah for eternal peace for the soul of the deceased and courage to the family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity.

PPP Iftar dinner Canceled

The Iftar dinner by the Vice Chairman PPP Makhdoom Amin Fahim and coordinator of the Party's Foreign Liaison Committee Senator Enver Baig in honour of diplomats from Muslim countries scheduled for Monday November 1 at the Golf Club Islamabad has been cancelled due to the sad demise of Mian Muhammad Sharif, the father of former Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

The Iftar dinner has been cancelled due to the funeral of Mian Muhammad Sharif on Monday afternoon in Lahore.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim and other PPP leaders would attend the funeral prayers of late Mian Muhammad Sharif in Lahore. Fahim also regretted inconvenience caused to all invitees.

Hundreds throng Model Town Residence

Hundreds of people from all walks of life thronged the residence of Mian Meraj Din younger brother of Mian Muhammad Sharif, in Model Town. Hamza Shahbaz, Tariq Shafi, Javid Shafi and all near relatives gathered there to condole the death of Mian Sharif.

Among prominent personalities who visited Model Town were former President of Pakistan Rafiq Tarar, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Syed Zaeem Qadri, Mian Muhammad Asad, Haji Muhammad Sharif, Members of national and provincial assemblies, Pervaiz Malik, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ajsam Sharif, former IG Sindh Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Mian Mahmood Ahmed and Sh Amjad Aziz.

Speaker Punjab Assembly Ch. Muhammad Afzal Sahi expressed deep sorrow on the sad demise of Mian Sharif. In his condolence message, he expressed heartfelt grief on his sudden death.

Sharif Complex, allied institutions to remain closed

Sharif Educational Complex and its allied institutions will remain closed on November 1 (Monday) to mourn the death of its founder, Mian Muhammad Sharif.

In a statement issued here Saturday, administrator of the complex, Ismail Butt said that services of late Mian Sharif would be remembered for the promotion of education in Raiwind area.

Mian Sharif, who was regarded as being a major influence in his son's rise to the prime ministership, had been living in Jeddah as part of his family's exile. He died in Jeddah on Friday after suffering a heart attack.●