Sharif’s wife Kulsoom dies in London
Funeral in Lahore; Nawaz, daughter to be released on parole
Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, passed away in London on Tuesday after suffering from complications related to cancer.
The 68- year- old former first lady of Pakistan, who was under treatment at London’s Harley Street Clinic since June 2014, was placed on life support earlier Tuesday after her health deteriorated, Geo TV reported.
Mr Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son- in- law Captain ( retd) Muhammad Safdar, all lodged in jail, would be released on parole to attend Begum Kulsoom’s funeral which will be held in Pakistan, sources said.
The three are currently serving jail terms in Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after being convicted by an accountability court in a corruption case in July.
“The Sharif family has sought at least a three- day parole,” sources said.
Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz ( PML- N) spokesperson Maryam
Aurangzeb said party president Shehbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif, would leave for London to bring the body to Lahore.
“Her body will be brought back and buried at the Sharif ’ s Jati Umra residence,” she said.
To a question whether Begum Kulsoom’s sons — Hasan and Hussain — would return to Lahore to attend her funeral prayer, she said, “No decision has been taken as yet.”
It is likely that both her sons may not return to Pakistan as they have been declared absconders by an accountability court in the off- shore properties’ case.
Begum Kulsoom was elected to Lahore’s NA- 120 constituency in a by- poll after her husband was disqualified from the seat by the Supreme Court last year in the Panama Papers case. Due to her illness, she was unable to return and formally take oath for the seat. During her husband’s exile after the 1999 military coup by President Pervez Musharraf, Begum Kulsoom took over reins of the party and served as its president from 1999 to 2002. She was also placed under house arrest following Mr Sharif ’ s ouster by Mr Musharraf in 1999.
Referring to her mother, Maryam Nawaz had said that she had challenged a usurper when “most men did not”. Born into a Kashmiri family in Punjab, she graduated from Forman Christian College University. Begum Kulsoom married Mr Sharif in April 1971 and they have four children. PM Imran Khan condoled the death of Begum Kulsoom and directed the Pakistan high commission in London to assist the Sharif family, a statement said. Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed sadness over the death of Mr Sharif’s wife, saying she was “a brave woman who fought for democracy”. Army Chief Gen. Qamar Jawed Bajwa also expressed grief over Begum Kulsoom’s death.
On August 23, 2017, doctors in the UK confirmed that Begum Kulsoom was suffering from cancer and was shifted to London for medical care. Since then, Mr Sharif and Maryam Nawaz had been making trips back and forth to visit ailing Begum Kulsoom. On June 15, she was placed on a ventilator after suffering a cardiac arrest.