Nawaz Sharif's mother, Begum Shamim Akhtar, passes away in London

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's mother, Begum Shamim Akhtar passed away in London on Sunday, announced Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Sources from the party informed that Begum Shamim Akhtar was in her 90s, and was unwell for a month. She also visited a hospital in London for a check-up twice last week, reported Dawn.

PML-N deputy secretary Ataullah Tarar said that Begum Shamim Akhtar's body was likely to be brought back to Lahore within a couple of days and buried next to her husband Mian Sharif at the Jati Umra estate of the Sharifs.

Her sons, Nawaz and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, were unable to attend the last rites of their father back in October 2004 as they were exiled to Jeddah, and had rejected a conditional offer by then military dictator Pervez Musharraf in this respect, according to Dawn.

Begum Shamim Akhtar had travelled to the UK in February against the advice of her doctors to see her ailing son, Nawaz Sharif, who has been under treatment for heart and kidney ailments there.

Nawaz Sharif, who was serving a seven-year jail term in a corruption case, had left for London in November last year after the Lahore High Court (LHC) gave him four-week permission to seek treatment abroad.

Tarar informed that the authorities concerned were being formally approached for the release of Shehbaz Sharif, who is currently under trial for various graft cases, on parole to enable him to attend the last rites of his mother.

Punjab Minister for Prisons Fayyaz Chohan also reiterated that both Shehbaz and his son Hamza Shehbaz, also in Kot Lakhpat Jail, will be released on parole a day before the arrival of the body.

Meanwhile, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz had appeared on the stage of the opposition's alliance - Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) power rally in Peshawar for only a brief moment before leaving abruptly after the news of the demise of her grandmother in London, ARY News reported.

"I came to meet you but I just found out my dadi passed away in London," she said while addressing the crowd.

According to Dawn, she complained she received the sad news two hours late because of the suspension of phone services at and around the venue for the public rally and chided the government for not taking pains to inform her of the happening.

A party official said Nawaz Sharif would attend his mother's funeral in London, as his family physician had also advised him against air travel.

(ANI)

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