LAHORE: A regret which may continue to haunt Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam for the rest of their lives is not seeing Begum Kulsoom Nawaz when she temporarily regained consciousness last month after being on a life-support machine for about two months in a London hospital.

“My father and I have great regret that when my mother regained consciousness last month we were not there with her. To add insult to injury, my father was allowed to speak to her (on telephone) once a week for a limited time due to the jail restrictions. Once she asked why I didn’t visit her or speak to her (via Skype) so that she could see my face,” former information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said quoting Maryam Nawaz.

“What would my mother have been thinking... have they (Nawaz and Maryam) got so busy (in politics) that they don’t have time for her. Perhaps this regret may continue to haunt me for the rest of my life,” Ms Aurangzeb quoted an anguished Ms Nawaz as saying, while talking to Dawn on Tuesday.

Begum Kulsoom Nawaz died of complications of throat cancer in London on Tuesday. Her body will be brought back to Pakistan and she will be buried at Jati Umra, Lahore, later this week.

She was placed on a life-support machine in mid June last at the Harley Street Clinic after her condition deteriorated.

She was still on ventilator when both her husband and daughter returned to Pakistan on July 13 to serve their respective jail terms in the Avenfield properties case.

Begum Kulsoom’s condition improved a bit in the first week of last month.

“Begum Kulsoom complained as to why Maryam would not come to see her... she wanted to see her face,” Ms Aurangzeb said, adding that Ms Maryam had a remorse what her mother would have been thinking of her and why she was not sparing time to see her.

The former First Lady was not told about the imprisonment of her husband and daughter.

“It was so cruel and whom should they (the Sharifs) blame for this?” Ms Aurengzeb said.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2018