E-Paper | October 11, 2026

PM Nawaz attends funeral of King Shah Abdullah in Saudi Arabia

Mateen HaiderAFP Published
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ISLAMBAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend late Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz's funeral.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also accompanied the PM.

Aziz's funeral prayers were offered at the Prince Turki Bin Abdul Aziz mosque in Riyadh.

— DawnNews screengrab
— DawnNews screengrab

The premier and President Mamnoon Hussain had expressed heartfelt condolences over the demise of the Saudi king and had termed it a big loss for the Ummah.

In a condolence message, PM Nawaz expressed grief and sorrow over the King's demise, saying that being the custodian of the Holy Mosques he had a special place in the heart of every Pakistani.

Extending condolences to the Saudi royal family as well as the people of the Kingdom he said the whole Pakistani nation is with their Saudi brethren in this hour of grief.

President Mamnoon also lauded the services of the late king for the betterment of the kingdom and the ummah as well.

Abdullah, said by the Saudi embassy in Washington to have been born in 1924, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2005, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.

He was replaced by his half-brother Salman as the absolute ruler of the world's top oil exporter and the spiritual home of Islam. Salman, 79, had been defence minister and previously governor of the capital Riyadh. Another of the late monarch's half-brothers, Moqren, was named the new crown prince.

Know more: Saudi King Shah Abdullah dies; Salman becomes new king

Earlier this month, PM Nawaz had visited the Saudi King and enquired after his health. The premier had also met Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz and discussed with him ways of enhancing bilateral relations in various fields.

Also read: Premier enquires after Saudi king’s health

Upon returning from his Riyadh visit, PM Nawaz came under heavy criticism over the fuel crisis. The premier held meetings to resolve the issue and suspended four officials.

PM Nawaz announces one-day mourning over Saudi King's death

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced a day of mourning over the death of Saudi King Abdullah.

The government has also decided that the flag will fly at half-mast today.

-AFP/File
-AFP/File
World
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PRABHAKAR TIWARI
Jan 23, 2015 12:37pm
i pray to god for his soul peace.....i saw him when he was chief guest of republic day parade
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rahul1
Jan 23, 2015 12:37pm
R.I.P. king of Arabia. BTW, do all tribes support his family rule?
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ridzwan hussein
Jan 23, 2015 12:50pm
Condelence to the king and people of kingdom of Saudi Arabia Al-Fatiha
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MK
Jan 23, 2015 12:50pm
Rip. Its like the father of our PM passed away
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Afghan Lion
Jan 23, 2015 12:50pm
nobody cares if he is alive or dead.
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Abdul Manan
Jan 23, 2015 12:51pm
RIP,great man of sincerity and affectionate with fellow muslim
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Abdul Manan
Jan 23, 2015 12:53pm
PM Nawaz expressed grief and sorrow over the King's demise, saying that being the custodian of the Holy Mosques he had a special place in the heart of every Pakistani.Good word for great man
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Abdulla Hussin
Jan 23, 2015 12:53pm
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return) May Allah very kindly have mercy on the late custodian of the Holy Mosques. Pakistan has indeed lost an elder brother.
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rabz
Jan 23, 2015 12:54pm
R. I. P
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Muhammad Usman
Jan 23, 2015 12:57pm
Great friend of Pakistan who supported us in hour of need. I hope prince Salman will help Muslim states to fight extremism, poverty and illiteracy.
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nadeem_aman_khan@yaoo.com.au
Jan 23, 2015 01:01pm
He was 90 not 19 and had a dream life…unaccountable wealth, above the law, 4 wives, 22 children and managd a countryndafter is family...a few families in Pakistan would be jealous.
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turtlehead
Jan 23, 2015 01:03pm
should have made a telephone call on his health last trip....at least this trip is justified....
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Taimur
Jan 23, 2015 01:06pm
RIP. I hope that King Salman will also let us live in peace and there will be no more financial support for the terrorists
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Hassan
Jan 23, 2015 01:06pm
Paying homage to his true masters!
Recommend 0
M
Jan 23, 2015 01:06pm
As if Sharif needs another reason to head off to Saudi.
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Fifth
Jan 23, 2015 01:08pm
Inna lillahi... Everyone has to die one day, that is life.
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Ali
Jan 23, 2015 01:09pm
Come on pm don't run away from petrol crisis.
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Eddie
Jan 23, 2015 01:13pm
Our beloved prime minister got another excuse to leave the country. I wish he could stay in saudi forever.
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TooTrue
Jan 23, 2015 01:22pm
No we're not. Should be business as usual.
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syed
Jan 23, 2015 01:32pm
@Afghan Lion very ignorant comment.
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Boss man
Jan 23, 2015 01:35pm
Btw, his name is Adullah. Not shah Abdullah
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ur
Jan 23, 2015 01:37pm
Pl get some petrol on way back.!
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Ahmed USA
Jan 23, 2015 01:43pm
Our PM spends more time in Jeddah than in Islamabad..
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Intesar
Jan 23, 2015 01:51pm
Where he is now, he'll have to answer for all the misery and death his country has brought upon the Muslims of the world thanks to their shameful support of militancy and terorrism in the name of Islam. May Allah forgive his soul as only He can. This man doesn't deserve any sympathy from the living.
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muhammad farooq
Jan 23, 2015 02:00pm
First thing that comes to my mind upon this demise is that no matter one is king or queen or the poorest creature on earth unsble to have two square meals everyoone is destined to die. Death is a great equalizer. May Allah rest his soul in peace and grant his successor wisdom to avoid all kind of interventions in the affairs of another sovereign state.
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Prince
Jan 23, 2015 02:01pm
What a waste of poor Pakistanis money. He returned two days ago from Saudi Arabia and he is going back to attend a criminals funeral. Nawaz should permanently live outside of the country.
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Akram
Jan 23, 2015 02:02pm
why should Pakistan have a day in mourning (which will affect our economy) for some foreign royal? I don't remember the Saudis doing the same
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bikram singh
Jan 23, 2015 02:02pm
@MK very funny. lol
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Waqar Hasan
Jan 23, 2015 02:06pm
You didnt visit APS Peshawar when Imran Khan had the courage to go there twice despite the protest he faced from the mourning parents.
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Aussie
Jan 23, 2015 02:07pm
Poor tax payers money
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AdHawk
Jan 23, 2015 02:10pm
Self proclaimed 'custodians', and in reality, destroyers of the historical sites. Who buys their nonsense any more? Other than NS, that is.
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zahra
Jan 23, 2015 02:15pm
I wish the flag would fly at half mast for the Ahmadi's or the Shia's or the Christians as well!! After the Mumbai attacks most of the U.S/U.K buildings had their flag flying at half mast!
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MX
Jan 23, 2015 02:16pm
I am surprised that the PM has not announced a public holiday here in PAK
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graphicalmanx
Jan 23, 2015 02:21pm
Saudis never mourned our 150 kids. They never lowered their flags. They would never do it over the death of our politicians. Why should we ?!
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hussain
Jan 23, 2015 02:23pm
@MK Well said
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lafanga
Jan 23, 2015 02:25pm
PM just needs an excuse to run out of the country he was elected to govern. He better come back from Saudi with ship load of petrol. May the king's soul rest in peace.
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atharvya
Jan 23, 2015 02:38pm
this saudi king and his ministers didnt even bothered to make a statement about peshawar incident.........and pakistani prime minister here is going out of his way to show his grief and courtesy
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KAMRAN
Jan 23, 2015 02:43pm
this is stupidity to lower down flag for foreing royals. its not effecting on our petrol crisis.
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Sunil
Jan 23, 2015 02:45pm
Country in petrol crisis, PM heads for a trip.
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Hussain
Jan 23, 2015 02:48pm
'he had a special place in the heart of every Pakistani'....a very far stretched and cliche statement from a person who must be very emotional personally remembering his hospitality and patronage during his long stay in Saudi Arabia. Speak for your self PM!
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An Observer
Jan 23, 2015 02:49pm
And he has yet to visit Peshawar. Clearly evident, our PMs priorities. If this funeral puts things for him in perspective, that everyone has to die in the end no matter how rich or poor, and if he has half a shred of conscience left, he should give us back our money he and his cronies stole from us. And hand over Pakistan to a true representative of the people; be it IK or the army.
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raza
Jan 23, 2015 02:52pm
No we are not and no need to fly flag at half mast did they do the same when our children were killed ?
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Abdul Malik
Jan 23, 2015 03:01pm
With all due respect and condolence, why waste one day for mourning?
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ali
Jan 23, 2015 03:03pm
Not sure about the whole pakistani nation but Mr PM you sure are with the saudi nation since its your first and second and third refuge..!! We have our on list of problems to ponder. Thanks to your govt.
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Arif Aslam Khan
Jan 23, 2015 03:08pm
Nawaz Sharif's mentor
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SHERYAAR
Jan 23, 2015 03:11pm
well did mr. NS attend funeral of children killed in peshawar school.. no but he has time to attend funeral in saudia arabia.. also i pray for the king but at the same time would like to share that he was also a puppet of USA like NS and his entire team
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M. Asghar
Jan 23, 2015 03:22pm
From "dust to dust" and nothing more to say than that the death is a disappoinment!
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Imran Mehmood
Jan 23, 2015 03:25pm
not worth commenting
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Zak
Jan 23, 2015 03:28pm
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are true brotherly countries, who time to time have had differences but in key fundamental issues, we were one.
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Saima
Jan 23, 2015 03:31pm
Day of mourning?? Like Saudi Arabia did when 141 of our children were murdered? Sorry I forgot Saudi and UK are part of exile and retirement plans of our politicians.
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Husain Jan
Jan 23, 2015 04:11pm
@rahul1 All tribes ? No way. Even those who do support this long existing family rule may be doing so out of compulsion or for personal benefits. In the kingdom it is difficult - almost impossible - to speak against the king or his family and so no one /no tribe can dare to oppose ...may not support but has to keep mum.
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Husain Jan
Jan 23, 2015 04:18pm
@Intesar Yes very true. How can one forget the incident where he - the ex-king- showed lot of hurry in congratulating Sisi of Egypt for over throwing the elected government of Morsi and becoming new head of state. This one example is more than sufficient to prove his character.
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Sher
Jan 23, 2015 04:39pm
This is our President's job, so PM has taken over this too, then why we have President??
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افغان ميهن
Jan 23, 2015 04:40pm
Malik Abdullah not Shah Abdullah. Calling an Arab a Shah, the height of ignorance.
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mian
Jan 23, 2015 04:58pm
May Allah bless him with maghfirat and bless him with jannat.It is good on behalf of PM to share this sad time with our Saudi brothers.
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irfan
Jan 23, 2015 05:03pm
@Hassan He has given more aid to Pakistan than all countries taken together dude. You travel on his donated street in Karachi more than often
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junaid
Jan 23, 2015 05:04pm
can somebody tell me why is the cm of Punjab always alongside N.S on his trips? Why not cms of kp, sindh or baluchistan?
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Rehan
Jan 23, 2015 05:39pm
Prayers for the saudi king.
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Waseem AbdulGhani Mohamad Baloshi
Jan 23, 2015 05:40pm
@KAMRAN Saudi flag has Allah's name. It will never be lower down. Use common sense before passing comments
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Zarak
Jan 23, 2015 05:56pm
RIP. this is Political visit by NS
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Imran
Jan 23, 2015 06:00pm
@junaid family business, even NS son also accompanies him in foreign trips and official meetings.
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efkar
Jan 23, 2015 06:06pm
King Shah ?
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Zaheer
Jan 23, 2015 06:08pm
May Allah rest him in peace. About Nawaz Sharif, I was expecting that he would attend funeral.
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Syed Asadullah Hyder, Ph.D.
Jan 23, 2015 06:52pm
Doesn't the protocol call for head of the state to visit the funeral of a head of state? NS is not head of state he is the head of government
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Sab Se Pehle Pakistan
Jan 23, 2015 07:03pm
Rest In Peace King Abdullah heard a lot of good things about you.
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Junaid
Jan 23, 2015 07:25pm
absolutely nothing wrong for NS to be visiting Saudi Arabia but please refrain from making statements that the late king worked for Muslim Ummah.
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MD imran
Jan 23, 2015 07:25pm
The flags of all nations must be on half mast today. A very very sad day
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Asif Jamil
Jan 23, 2015 07:26pm
I read all the comments, some uncharitable, many not true and showed me how little some people know before they speak. I am a British/Pakistani working in Saudi Arabia since 1982. Let me tell you King Abdullah was a great king and a true friend of Pakistan. He made many changes for the good of his country. This is today a very different country than what it used to be before he became the king. He was a moderate Muslim. He was not a criminal, as one writer said. And, Saudi flag never flies at half mast because what is written on it. It is very easy to be critical than correct.
Recommend 0
Fawad
Jan 23, 2015 07:28pm
I hope the new King will stop the flow of funding to seminaries in our country
Recommend 0
anne
Jan 23, 2015 07:29pm
@Akram
Recommend 0
anne
Jan 23, 2015 07:31pm
@افغان ميهن well noticed
Recommend 0
anne
Jan 23, 2015 07:32pm
@Saima
Recommend 0
Kranti
Jan 23, 2015 07:52pm
Truly Genuine person. Heart felt condolences from our Indian Brothers.
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(メラッジィ) Meraj_Japan
Jan 23, 2015 08:02pm
May Allah rest his soul in eternal peace.... Mr. PM ! please ask some petrol from them before coming back so the everyday living could be smoothed.
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Aeyaz Kayani
Jan 23, 2015 08:22pm
I am amazed at the vitriol of some of the comments here. You folks do realize that the flag bearing the Kalima is NEVER flown at at half mast? And if Whitehall and Westminister fly a flag at half mast why would we not?
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suren
Jan 23, 2015 09:58pm
Surprised to see Pakistani reactions ! It seems that he was a great champion of democracy and human Rights. Grow up folks. He was not a Mahatma Gandhi, or Martin Luther king or Nelson Mandela.
Recommend 0
Rose Patel
Jan 23, 2015 10:03pm
Why PM took his brother with him?
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suren
Jan 23, 2015 10:09pm
Those who are living in the concept of Ummah. I think they are living in fools paradise. Please read historical facts. Live in present. Focus on scientific life style. Every thing will be alright.
Recommend 0
emjay
Jan 23, 2015 10:11pm
I have a very simple question from everyone singing the late king's praises: Why did it take KSA 4 days to condemn Peshawar attack? Please enlighten us ignorant people with your responses.
Recommend 0
citizen
Jan 23, 2015 10:23pm
Wise move by PM..who knows about future..It is always better to be on safer side..
Recommend 0
Sarfaraz Abbasi
Jan 24, 2015 04:35am
Pak PM declares mourning day - whereas no official mourning period has been declared in state, the Saudi government offices stay open and Saudi flags remain at full mast.
Recommend 0
Abira Ashfaq
Jan 24, 2015 02:37pm
Fly the flag at half mast for the people who have lost their lives because of terror and fundamentalism in Pakistan made possible by Saudi sponsorship. $100MN a year to fund these things is no joke - it has destroyed the very fabric of our society, promoted intolerance, led to deadly attacks by TTP, led the state into a duplicitous game of wooing Saudis and conducting operations in FATA that have led to massive human suffering. This day of mourning for King Abdullah is a slap in the face of all citizens - a mockery of human rights, and an embrace of cynicism and hypocrisy. He was a man who in his personal life was a hypocrite and above all Islamic norms that he inflicted upon his people and the world with force and funds. His regime beheads women, cuts limbs in public - yet we run there as if they are our saviours. We should be running away from SA and the dead king, screaming in horror, and ducking for our lives. We should unequivocally condemn this day of morning and refuse to acknowledge it.
Recommend 0
deva
Jan 25, 2015 12:51am
@Abira Ashfaq i agree with ur view, current situation in pakistan or most of the islamic country is because of Saudi funding to hardliner thinking instead of modern schools etc. They put seeds for destruction
Recommend 0
Child #132
Jan 25, 2015 07:06am
Then Sharif goes into exile?
Recommend 0

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