Nawaz will not accompany mother’s body to Pakistan

LONDON: Former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif will not be able to accompany his mother’s body to Pakistan, ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar stated here on Sunday.

Speaking to the media outside Avenfield flats here after Nawaz Sharif’s mother Begum Shamim Akhtar, 89, passed away, Ishaq Dar said Nawaz Sharif has been advised by doctors not to travel because of his ailing health and ongoing treatment. The PML-N supremo’s mother passed away in London on Sunday afternoon. The Sharif family awaits death certificate and repatriation clearance from the Coroner of the Westminster Council. A Sharif family source said funeral arrangements at the London Islamic Centre will be made after the death certificate has been issued.

He said the coroner would also issue repatriation certificate so the body could be taken to Pakistan for burial in Jati Umra. The source shared that due to Covid-19 lockdown, there are restrictions in place and offices are closed therefore the only mode of communication to the coroner office is through emails and limited phone contact.

“It’s taking more than the usual time to get the certificates arranged as counter services are no more available. We are hoping to have these certificates issued by late Monday or Tuesday. Once we have these certificates then Namaaz-e-Janaza will be offered at the Regent’s Park Mosque,” said the source.

A source at the mosque said representatives of Sharif family have been in touch with the mosque administration. “We have told the family that only 30 people are allowed for funeral prayers under the UK government guidelines during the pandemic. The family will provide us a list of the funeral participants and only those in the list will be able to enter the mosque.”

Begum Akhtar passed away on Sunday afternoon at the Avenfield apartments here at the age of 89. She was suffering from severe chest pain and worsening dementia conditions, according to family sources.

Her body was transferred to the mortuary of Regent’s Park Islamic Centre late on Sunday night after the coroner and local police spent about three hours at the Sharif family apartments to complete paper work to determine the cause of death and other legal requirements.

On Monday, members of Sharif family gathered at the Park Lane flats to offer prayers for the departed soul. Shahbaz Sharif’s family members in London were the first to arrive, followed by Ishaq Dar’s family, Abid Sher Ali and others. Around 50 PML-N workers gathered outside the apartments on Sunday evening after hearing the news of Begum Akhtar’s passing. Only close family members were able to enter the flats due to the restriction rules in place.