Islamabad: Former first lady and spouse of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Kulsoom Nawaz, was laid to rest in Jati Umra — the Sharif family’s resident in Raiwind — on Friday evening. She was buried next to her father-in-law Mian Mohammad Sharif and brother-in-law Mian Abbas Sharif.
Religious scholar Tariq Jamil led her funeral prayers.
Kulsoom was in a London hospital since August 2017 for lymphoma cancer treatment and passed away there on Tuesday, September 11.
Sharif’s younger brother and opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, had rushed to London on Wednesday morning to accompany her body back to Pakistan.
On Friday, Kulsoom’s body was brought via Pakistan Airline flight PK-758 to Lahore.
Her two sons, Hussain Nawaz and Hassan Nawaz, did not accompany their mother’s dead body because there are arrest warrants on them in Pakistan. However, their families and Kulsoom’s daughter Asma Dar accompanied her body.
The casket carrying Kulsoom’s body was first brought to Sharif Medical Complex, where Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, nephews Hamza and Salman, nieces Rabia and Javeria and other family members paid their last respects to the deceased lady. From there, it was brought to the Sharifs’ residence.
Later in the evening, the body was shifted to Sharif Medical Complex, where her funeral prayers were held in the medical complex’s grounds.
Thousands of mourners, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party workers and politicians attended the funeral prayers.
World leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent their condolences to Nawaz Sharif and his family over the loss.
Representatives for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will attend the funeral prayers and have reached Jati Umra. Former Punjab Assembly speaker Rana Iqbal was also at the funeral.
Former president Mamnoon Hussain, PTI’s two-member delegation comprising Speaker National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Gilgit Baltistan’s Chief Minister Hafiz-ur-Rehman, PPP’s Khurshid Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, MQM’s Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Attiqu-ur-Rehman, PML-N’s leaders Khwaja Mohammad Asif, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Asif Kirmani, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Javed Hashmi, Najam Sethi, officials of Saudi embassy attended the prayers.
Earlier, Kulsoom’s funeral prayers were also offered at London’s Regent Park mosque on Thursday, where hundreds showed up to pay their respects.
Her Rasm-e-Qul will be held on Sunday, September 16 between Asr and Maghrib prayers.
