Mian Sharif dies in Jeddah

Published October 30, 2004

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, Oct 29: Mian Mohammad Sharif, the father of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, expired in Jeddah on Friday. He was 85. Family sources told Dawn from Jeddah that Mian Sharif's condition had deteriorated at about 8pm Saudi time (10pm PST). He was rushed to United Doctor's Hospital in the port city where he was pronounced dead at 9pm.

His funeral prayers would be offered in Masjid-i-Haram, Makkah, on Saturday (today). Though the place of burial was yet to be decided, a source in the Sharif family said they had started making arrangements for the burial of the elder Sharif in his hometown Raiwind near Lahore in keeping with his last wishes.

Sharif family sources in Jeddah said that they had not yet decided about who would approach the Pakistan government for permission to bring the body to Pakistan. Mian Sharif, who was said to be the brain behind Main Nawaz Sharif's policy decisions as prime minister, migrated to Lahore 68 years ago from Jati Umra, India, in 1936.

He set up a small steel business on the Brandreth Road which grew into a giant conglomerate in the shape of the Ittefaq group. FIA arrested him in a loan default case during Mian Manzoor Wattoo's rule in the Punjab.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told a private TV channel that the government would consider granting permission if a request was received from the Sharif family. The entire Sharif family had been exiled to Saudi Arabia on Dec 10, 2000.

Opinion

Editorial

Killing fields
Updated 09 Jul, 2025

Killing fields

Israeli state seeks to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories of their Palestinian inhabitants, and forever obstruct the chances of a viable Palestinian state.
Crypto rush
09 Jul, 2025

Crypto rush

STEP by step, Pakistan is, at least on paper, moving closer to recognising, adopting and regulating cryptocurrencies...
Another plan
09 Jul, 2025

Another plan

FAILING to plan is planning to fail, as the old saying goes. This seems to have occurred in the case of Karachi, a...
Green tokenism
Updated 08 Jul, 2025

Green tokenism

Climate decisions must be based on facts, not politics — guided by independent science and open to public scrutiny.
Cotton decline
08 Jul, 2025

Cotton decline

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is in a crisis. Production has fallen from a peak of 14m bales 10 years ago to 5.5m ...
Pet problems
08 Jul, 2025

Pet problems

PAKISTANIS’ obsession with exotic pets keeps ending in tragedy. Incidents like the recent lion attack in a Lahore...