Ghulam Muhammad Maneka’s wife passes away

ISLAMABAD: Razia Sultan, the wife of former federal minister Mian Ghulam Muhammad Maneka has passed away in the family’s political stronghold, Pakpattan Sharif, after weeks’ long illness.

She was in her 80s. Ms Maneka was survived by four sons — Khawar Farid Maneka, Ahmad Raza Maneka, Farooq Ahmad Maneka and Moazzam Mahmood Maneka — one daughter and a number of grandchildren. She remained hospitalised in the ICU for about 25 days before her death on last Wednesday. Sultan hailed from the respectable Manekas’ clan, which is thought to be politically influential 1950's. A number of members of her family are active not only in regional but also in national politics. Sultan’s husband remained federal minister several times but could not contest his last elections once the then military dictator General (R) Pervaiz Musharraf conditioned bachelor degree for legislatures in 2002. Almost all political heavyweights in the land of Ganjshakar were disqualified from the general elections due to the graduation condition. Ms Maneka was from Pathan family from Jalinder, India and migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Her father Muhammad Ahmad Khan was chief justice of Bhopal High Court before the partition. Her husband Ghulam Muhammad Maneka died in 2012. The then prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani went to Khawar Farid Maneka’s residence in Lahore to condole the sad demise of his later father. Ghulam Muhammad Maneka had also once served as a federal minister in the cabinet of the then prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 90s.

Her elder son Khawar Farid Maneka is a senior government servant while his younger brother Ahmed Raza Maneka contested 2013 elections but could not make his way to Parliament. He is very active in politics in his native town Pakpattan Sharif along with his brother Farooq Maneka. Her only daughter is married to Asim Maneka, the son of Mian Aslam Hayat Maneka who served once as Director General of the Intelligence Bureau. Two of her sons are affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and have had strong political influence in the area which they claimed to be the result of Khawar Farid Maneka's strong devotion to Hazrat Baba Farid Ganj Shakr. Khawar Maneka studied at Aitcheson in Pakistan and later studied abroad.

Manekas swirled to the controversy after reports emerged that cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan either proposed Bushra Bibi for marriage or married who was divorced by Khawar Farid Maneka, elder son of Razia Sultan. Bushra remained her daughter-in-law for thirty years but Khawar divorced her last year. Media reports claimed that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi recently tied the knot but there was no confirmation yet from both sides. PTI spokesperson officially told the media that Mr Khan had only proposed Bushra Bibi for a marriage and she has not yet given her approval. He was married to Bushra Riaz of the Wattoo clan.