Nawaz mother’s funeral prayers in London tomorrow

LONDON: The funeral prayers of Begum Shamim Akhtar, mother of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, will be offered at the Regent’s Park Mosque late Friday morning here. Family sources have confirmed to The News and Geo that arrangements have been made for the funeral prayers on Friday morning and soon after that the body will be flown to Pakistan for burial in Jati Umra. The dead body will be repatriated to Pakistan either through Qatar or British Airways, said the source. “We will finalise the flight soon.” A spokesman at the Regent's Park Mosque said that Sharif family has told the mosque management that the funeral prayers will be held on Friday morning and a list of 30 participants will be provided to the mosque administration by Thursday. “We have informed the family that more than 30 people will not be allowed inside the premises under the government guidelines and only those on the approved list will be able to gain entry.”

The funeral arrangements were made after the Westminster Coroner provided death certificate and repatriation clearance to the Sharif family two days after the death of Shamim Akhtar, 89, on Sunday morning. She passed away at around 930am BST at the Avenfield flats where she was living with her eldest son Nawaz Sharif and grandchildren. Members of Sharif family accompany the dead body to Pakistan.

Former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif will not be able to accompany his mother's body to Pakistan, ex-finance minister Ishaq Dar said.

Ishaq Dar said that Nawaz Sharif had been advised by doctors not to travel because of his ailing health and the on-going treatment. The PML-N chief's mother Shamim Akhtar passed away in London on Sunday afternoon.

Begum Shamim Akhtar had developed a severe chest infection and was suffering from an advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease. Her condition had deteriorated over the last week and she could not regain her health due to old age. Her body is currently kept at the Regent’s Park Mosque’s mortuary. The dead body was shifted to the mosque on Sunday night after the police and the coroner completed the paperwork at the Avenfield flats.