PPP leader and former senator Tahir Mashhadi died on Saturday due to cardiac arrest, according to Sindh PPP general secretary Waqar Mehdi.

Mehdi told Dawn.com that Mashhadi suffered a heart attack at his home in Malir Cantonment and was taken to the nearby Combined Military Hospital, where he breathed his last.

He left behind three sons. His funeral prayer was held inside Malir Cantonment and attended by political leaders before he was laid to rest in the army graveyard.

The veteran politician was a former army colonel, according to Mehdi. Before joining politics, he used to write regular columns for English daily The Nation on political and other issues.

He started his political role from the platform of the MQM, Mehdi recalled. He was elected as nazim of Jamshed Town initially and later selected as a senator by the MQM.

He joined the PPP two years ago and was made a member of the party's Sindh policy planning body by Senator Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

President Dr Arif Alvi expressed grief over Mashhadi's demise and prayed for him.

Radio Pakistan reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also shared his sorrow and said that Mashhadi's services for the country would continue to be remembered for a long time.

PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari lauded the deceased as an "astute and seasoned politician".

"The late Tahir Mashhadi continued to play an effective role for the development and prosperity of the city of Karachi," Bilawal said.

The former senator's role in raising Karachi's issues was also praised by PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. The former president extended his condolences to Mashhadi's family.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said Mashhadi was an experienced politician who had played an effective role in the parliament.

PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan also prayed for the deceased. "It was a pleasure being a member under his chairmanship of Senate Forum for Policy Research," he said.