NAWAZ SHARIF’S AILING WIFE KULSOOM DIES
:Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of deposed Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif, died in London on Tuesday of complications related to cancer. She was 68.
Her death was confirmed by her brother-in-law Shehbaz Sharif. She is survived by her husband and four children, Hassan, Hussain, Maryam and Asma.
Kulsoom was put on life support on Tuesday as her health deteriorated on Monday after she had developed a lung problem. The three-time former first lady was diagnosed with earlystage lymphoma in August 2017 and had been in London, where she underwent several surgeries and chemotherapy sessions.
Her death was condoled by Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.
Kulsoom was seen as a pillar of strength for Sharif and unaffected by the controversies that engulfed him.
She contested and won a parliamentary seat in Lahore, a traditional bastion of Sharif’s PML-N party after the constituency fell vacant following his disqualification by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case last year.
Kulsoom played a crucial role in the PML-N and ensured the party remained functional during the most difficult of times.
When Sharif went into exile in Saudi Arabia after the 1999 military coup led by Pervez Musharraf, Kulsoom took over reins of the PML-N and served as its president during 1999-2002.
Kulsoom’s death poses a new challenge for the Imran Khan government — on whether to allow her kin to attend her last rites.
Geo News reported Sharif, Maryam and her husband Muhammad Safdar will be granted parole for the funeral.