Death of Jinnah’s only child, Dina Wadia, mourned by Pak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday mourned the death of Dina Wadia, the only daughter of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who passed away in New York at the age of 98, though some were unaware that the Father of the Nation had any offspring.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi conveyed condolences to Dina’s family, said a statement from the Foreign Office. Her son Nusli Wadia was informed of “the sadness of the Pakistani nation” on the demise of his mother.
Messages of condolence poured in immediately after news of Wadia’s death broke on Thursday. Politicians and activists took to Twitter to offer their respect.
Nearly seven decades after his death, Jinnah continues to tower over almost all aspects of life in Pakistan but his family has been largely airbrushed out of the official history, mostly because of the Parsi heritage of his wife Ruttie Petit and daughter Dina.
Few official accounts refer to the family of the Quaid-e-azam, as Jinnah is known in Pakistan.
Jinnah was estranged from Dina because of her decision at the age of 17 to marry Neville Wadia, a member of a leading Parsi business family, in 1938. He met her for the last time shortly before the creation of Pakistan.
English newspapers prominently covered the news of Dina’s death. The Dawn newspaper — founded by Jinnah — reported the news on its front page.
In comparison, coverage in the Urdu newspapers and news channels was less prominent.
Dina visited Pakistan twice. During her second trip to Karachi in March 2004, Dina was accompanied by son Nusli and grandsons Ness and Jehangir. They visited Jinnah’s mazar or mausoleum and laid a wreath.
“This has been very sad as well as wonderful for me. May his dream for Pakistan come true,” Dina had written in the visitors’ book.