KARACHI: Dawn regrets to announce the death of His Excellency Lt-Col Sahibzada Mohammad Khurshid, the Governor of the North West Frontier Province, who died of heart failure at Peshawar at 9-25 a.m. on Saturday [Jan 14]. The sad news was broken [here] by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, who interrupted … Parliament … to announce the ‘tragic death’ of one of the “most loyal and devoted servants of Pakistan.” [He] was visibly moved… .

The news came as a rude shock. The President said: “We are stunned by the shocking news. It is a great calamity.” The leader of the Opposition “wholeheartedly associated” himself in the mourning and the House adjourned as a mark of respect without transacting any business. A black-bordered Gaz­e­t­­te Extraordinary issued on Saturday anno­unced the “deep regret” of the Government of Pakistan… . “In Col Khurshid’s death Pakistan has lost one of its most distinguished officers,” the Gazette stated.

The Government have ordered 14-day official mourning from Jan 14 to Jan 27. All the Government Offices were closed … after the death was announced and flags were pulled down … [to] fly at half-mast till Jan 16.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2025