LAHORE, Sept 30: Begum Sabiha Jilani, the wife of renowned politician the late Malik Ghulam Jilani, died of heart failure on Sunday. She was 85.

She was the daughter of Lahore’s prominent literary figure the late Maulana Salahuddin Ahmad, who edited Adabi Duniya, and the mother of Usman Jilani Malik, Samina Tahir and rights activists Asma Jehangir and Hina Jilani.

Her funeral prayers will be held at her residence, 131, E-I, Gulberg III, at 4pm on Tuesday (tomorrow).

She was the first female Muslim student of Forman Christian College, Lahore. During her college days she was a leading tennis player and swimmer of her institution.

In her lifetime she closely witnessed several political events and was a support to political prisoners during the 1960s and 70s. She endured hardships when her husband was incarcerated and lost his property owing to his political beliefs. Begum Jilani took these adversaries in her stride and continued to encourage her children to stand by principled politics. Her children, including her two daughters, Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani, inherited strong values from their mother.