LAHORE, June 10: Senior bureaucrat and Punjab Management and Professional Development Department secretary Zahoorul Haq Shaikh died at a local hospital on Tuesday morning. He was 54.

Mr Shaikh, a DMG-21 officer, had undergone heart surgery a few years ago and was admitted to the Jinnah Hospital after his mother died on Monday.

He was laid to rest at the Miani Sahib graveyard in the afternoon. A large number of people, including Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, ministers, civil servants, friends and relatives, attended his funeral prayers.

Known as an upright and bold civil officer, Mr Shaikh held important administrative posts during his career. Before his present assignment, he worked as Planning and Development Board chairman.

He belonged to Sialkot and was the son of Gujrat’s Public High School headmaster Azmatullah Shaikh.