Former president Mamnoon Hussain dies of cancer

Former president of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday passed away in Karachi, his son has confirmed. 

According to Geo News,  Hussain was suffering from cancer and had been hospitalised for the last two weeks, his son Arsalan Mamnoon said.

Hussain was the 12th president of Pakistan, who served from 2013 to 2018 during the tenure of the PML-N. He was one of the most senior PML-N leaders.

Originally a businessman, Mamnoon Hussain was born on December 23, 1940, in the Indian city of Agra. He had started his political career as a Muslim Leaguer in 1969. At the time, he was made the joint secretary of the Karachi chapter of the League when former minister of state for foreign affairs Zain Noorani was its president.

The deceased had earned an MBA degree from the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi.

He was actively involved in the PML-N since 1993 when Nawaz Sharif was in the Opposition. Before Hussain was appointed as the governor of Sindh by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 to serve in this position for less than six months, he worked as an advisor to the provincial chief minister (Liaquat Ali Jatoi) for an insignificant portfolio.

After the promulgation of military rule in October 1999, Hussain firmly stood with Nawaz Sharif when multitudes of PML-N leaders simply abandoned their party.

Following his demise, the Senior PML-N leaders, the president of Pakistan, the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, and several other government and opposition leaders expressed their condolences. 

"Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif has expressed grief over the death of former president Mamnoon Hussain," the PML-N tweeted from its official account.

"Today, we have lost a person who loved Pakistan and had a precious heart. He was a trusted, loyal, and ideological ally of Nawaz Sharif."

"He stood firm with the party and its leadership during all ups and downs and never succumbed to expediency.

His death is not only a loss to the party but also a personal loss. The former president was a walking example of our Eastern values and traditions, nobility and intellectual civility.

Apart from being a linguist and a literary man, he was a wonderful person who loved knowledge.  His services to the country and the nation will be remembered. 

May Allah Almighty grant him a high position in Paradise and grant patience to his family. Ameen," the PML-N wrote.