GILGIT: Dr Shama Khalid, the first Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, died of cancer in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Shama Khalid had been suffering from cancer and was under treatment in Islamabad for quite sometime, sources said. Sworn in as first governor of Gilgit-Baltistan on March 23, Shama Khalid belonged to Gorikote village of Astore. She is survived by two daughters and one son.
Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan, Mehdi Shah, in a message termed her sudden death as a loss to the region and prayed for the departed soul. Though born in Astore, she was settled in Abbottabad before becoming the Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Dr Shama was a social worker who voluntarily worked in different parts of GB. Not only was she the first ever woman governor of the region, Shama Khalid had also had the honour of being the first-ever woman MBBS doctor of Gilgit-Baltistan. She was a staunch supporter of women’s empowerment as she wanted that women of her region may have easy access to education and jobs. She had announced setting up of a separate university for women in Gilgit so that women could get education according to the norms of their society.
Meanwhile, in their separate messages President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani condoled the sad demise of Dr Shama Khalid. They prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.
Others who condoled Shama Khalid’s death included Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza and Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Owais Ahmed Ghani, Governor Punjab Salman Taseer, Senior Punjab Minister Raja Riaz, Punjab Finance Minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Jamaat-E-Islami Ameer Syed Munawwar Hasan and Secretary General Liaquat Baloch.
