Former Punjab governor and PTI-backed MNA Mian Muhammad Azhar passed away on Tuesday, his party confirmed.

The PTI announced the death in a post on X and extended its condolences to his son and party leader, Hammad Azhar.

Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan praised him as a person of “noble character” whose “political and national services” would be remembered for a long time.

Former Sindh governor and ex-PTI leader Imran Ismail said he was deeply saddened to hear of the death and praised the deceased as a “distinguished political figure”.

He was the governor of Punjab from August 11, 1990, till April 10, 1993.

He was also the founding president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and joined the PTI in October 2011.

He was the PTI-backed candidate in the February 2024 general elections for NA-129(Lahore-XIII) and joined the Sunni Ittehad Council later on.

In January 2024, he was also taken into custody in Lahore only to be released after a few hours as police launched a crackdown on PTI-affiliated candidates and supporters who took to the streets on party founder Imran Khan’s call.