LAHORE, Oct 31: No member of the Sharif family will accompany the body of Mian Sharif from Jeddah to Lahore, Punjab PML-N president Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa said at a press conference here on Sunday.

The decision, he said, was taken 'to protest' against the conditions set by the government for allowing the Sharifs to attend the burial of the head of their family.

Members of the family were told they could escort the body to Pakistan if they guaranteed they would return to the kingdom after three days.

Mian Sharif, 85, died of cardiac arrest in Jeddah on Friday.

Mr Khosa said he had spoken by phone with Nawaz Sharif who said his father could have lived longer had he not been exiled.

The exile had cost Mian Sharif heavily, Mr Khosa quoted Nawaz Sharif as saying.

The former prime minister also criticized the government for not allowing the family to attend the burial, he added.

The body of Mian Sharif will reach Lahore at around 9:30am. His funeral prayer would be offered at Data Sahib's shrine after Zuhar prayers, Mr Khosa said. The body would then be taken to Jati Umra for burial in accordance with the will of the late Mian Sharif, the Punjab PML-N chief added.

Mr Khosa said he feared the government might not allow funeral prayers at the shrine. The rulers who claimed support of 96 per cent Pakistanis were afraid of just one body, he added.

He denied reports that the Sharifs had requested either the Pakistani or Saudi authorities for permission to travel to Pakistan.

"They are the citizens of Pakistan and need no permission to carry the coffin of their father to the country," he said.

Also present at the press conference were Sindh PML-N acting president Imdad Chandio, Pervaiz Malik, Inamullah Niazi, Khwaja Hassaan and several MPAs of the party.

Mr Niazi warned the government that situation might take an unpleasant turn if they were barred from offering funeral prayers at Data Darbar.

Adds APP: Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed expressed the hope that the funeral will be held with solemnity and it will not be made a political issue.