LAHORE: Zille Huma, noted singer and daughter of melody queen Noor Jehan, passed away here on Friday. She was 69.

Huma’s health had deteriorated in the last three or four years. She was admitted to Doctor’s Hospital a couple of weeks ago for kidney and diabetes treatment. Earlier, she had been admitted to Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi, from where she was shifted to Doctor’s Hospital.

She had developed gangrene in her left leg and doctors cut it off a few days ago.

Soon the electronic media aired the news of her death, her Garden Town home was thronged by family friends, relatives and glamour world people. Prominent among them were Ijaz Durrani, Madeeha Shah, Babra Sharif, Farida Khanum, Resham, Zeba, former hockey player Hasan Sardar and Jugan Kazim.

Huma was born on Feb 26, 1945, in Lahore. She was the youngest child of her parents — Noor Jehan and Shaukat Husain Rizvi. She married jeweller Aqeel Butt but the marriage could not last. She is survived by four sons.

Huma resembled her mother and she also made her name in singing. She learnt music from Ustad Ghulam Mohammad and sang a number of songs, mostly of her mother’s.

Her funeral prayers were offered in a ground near her residence in Garden Town, and she was laid to rest at an Imambargah in Shah Noor Studio.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2014