The military-led government temporarily released Asif Ali Zardari, husband of former premier Benazir Bhutto, to participate in the last rites and funeral ceremony of his mother who died in Karachi yesterday afternoon, a party spokesman said yesterday.

Bilquees Begum, 72, died in the private Ziauddin Hospital at around 1.30 pm after a protracted illness, Munawwar Suharwardi, a spokesman of the Pakistan People's Party, told Gulf News.

"Zardari was at her bedside reciting from the Holy Quran when she died," he added.

Bilquees Begum was the daughter of eminent educationist, Hasan Ali Afandi. Her husband Hakim Ali Zardari is also a prominent politician and landowner from Sindh province.

She was in a coma for the last six days. The government shifted Zardari from Islamabad last week to allow him to be with his mother. The hospital rooms where Zardari was staying was declared a sub-jail.

Soon after the death of his mother, the government allowed Zardari to take his mother's body home to Karachi, which was thronged by hundreds of party members, relatives and friends.

"There is no bar on visitors there. Mr Zardari is personally receiving condolences," Suharwardi said.

Zardari was arrested on November 5, 1996, on charges of massive corruption and abuse of power minutes after the then president dismissed the government of his wife. Since then Zardari has remained under detention. He faces at least 14 cases, including that of corruption, narcotics smuggling and murder.

Zardari has got bail in at least 12 cases and his lawyers are trying to get him free by applying for bail in other cases as well.

Suharwardi said that Bilquees Begum's body would be taken to Zardari's ancestral town of Nawabshah by road. The burial will take place this morning, he added.

Zardari, her only son, will accompany the body. The deceased has three daughters as well. One of them, Azra, has been elected member of the National Assembly in October 10 elections, while another, Faryal, is mayor of Nawabshah.

"Zardari is very attached to his mother. He is shattered by her death," Suharwardi said.

A senior Sindh province official said the government had granted Zardari temporary release on parole to attend her funeral. "He has been released on parole and can go accompany the body for the funeral," Sindh home secretary Brigadier Mukhtar Sheikh told reporters.

Zardari's release on parole came at a time when there are reports that the top PPP leaders are negotiating with the government to secure his release in return for their cooperation in the formation of a broad-based government.

PPP sources say that they are demanding the government release Zardari unconditionally and withdraw corruption cases against their leader Benazir, who is living in exile.

Zardari has denied reports of any secret deal with the government, while admitting that the government officials have been in contact.

Zardari told AFP last week that he would never accept a deal regarding his release.

"I will have nowhere to go if I strike any clandestine deal with the powers-that-be and I don't want to put myself in a situation where whatever I have sacrificed in the past six years goes to waste," he said.

"I don't say I don't want to be released. Every caged bird wants to be free and flying, but will think twice if foxes are outside."

Bhutto, who faces arrest if she returns to Pakistan, will be unable to participate in the funeral of her mother-in-law.

PPP Parliamentarian president Makhdoom Amin Fahim has condoled with Zardari over the death of his mother, saying that he has been "deeply grieved."

"Zardari ... is already incarcerated for the last over six years on trumped-up charges," he said in a statement. "Zardari has to experience this grievous loss at a time when he himself is behind bars," he said.

Paying tributes to Zardari for standing up "bravely to the ordeals, which befell him," Fahim prayed to Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant strength and courage to him and other family members to bear the loss.