People gather near an ambuance as they attend funeral services for Kulsoom Sharif, the wife of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was temporarily released from prison, in Lahore, Pakistan September 14, 2018.
Pakistan’s former First Lady Begum Kulsoom Nawaz was laid to rest in northeastern Lahore city on Friday.
Thousands thronged the Jati Umra -- residence of Sharif family on the eastern outskirt of Lahore -- to attend the funeral prayer led by eminent religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel.
Kulsoom’s widower and jailed ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, who was released on a parole together with his daughter and political heir Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday, also attended the funeral marking an end to the couple’s 47-year marital association.
Live footage aired on local TV channels showed a van, weak and weather-beaten Nawaz Sharif who has served as premier for three terms, coming to attend the funeral surrounded by his family members, and plain-clothed security personnel.
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, attended his wife's funeral on Friday (September 14) in Lahore. Pakistani authorities on Wednesday temporarily released former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law to attend funeral services for former First Lady Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, who died of cancer the day before in London.
Former Pakistani PM attends wife's funeral in Lahore
Others who attended the funeral included, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Opposition leader and Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, former President Mamnoon Hussain, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, and leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), center-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema Islam, and other political and religious parties.
Sharif, his daughter Maryam, and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar are currently serving jail terms in a corruption case. However, Sharif’s supporters see a judiciary-army nexus behind their conviction.
Kulsoom, a PhD in Urdu literature, lost her protracted battle against cancer in a London hospital on Wednesday.
Islamabad wants to "enhance and augment" its relations with Turkey, the Pakistan Air Force chief said on Thursday.In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency at the Pakistan Embassy in Ankara, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan spoke about bilateral relations between the two countries.“We are very appreciative of the Turkish people for standing by Pakistan in all difficult times,” the air force chief said.“We want to enhance and augment these relations in the times to come,” he added.Khan, who was awarded the Legion of Merit of Turkish Armed Forces on Wednesday, said the two countries “face similar challenges” in national security.Referring to terrorism as the “biggest challenge” faced by Pakistan, Khan said that the country had lost more than 76,000 lives and in the last 17 years suffered more than $100 billion in damages.He regretted the lack of global support for his country's effort to build a fence against cross-border terrorism, adding that “a stable Afghanistan is in the interests of Pakistan and the entire region".He said: “Both countries need to further augment collaboration in the defense and security domain" in order to play a positive role in the stability of the region.Turkey and Pakistan have recently contracted the sale/purchase of 30 Turkish attack helicopters, 4 Milgem corvettes and 52 Pakistani Super Mushshak trainer aircraft.Khan said Pakistan was a peaceful nation and believed in peaceful coexistence with all neighbours.Turkey’s foreign minister arrives in Pakistan
Pakistan air chief praises Pak-Turk defense partnership
Her health deteriorated rapidly after her initial diagnosis with lymphoma in June 2017.
Despite not being able to campaign, she still won the by-election on a National Assembly seat in September 2017 from Lahore, following disqualification of Sharif in whistleblower Panama papers scandal by the country’s top court.
She was known as a “brave woman” for her daring struggle for Sharif’s release following dismissal of his elected government by the then army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 1999.
However, she generally maintained a low public profile when Sharif remained in power.