ISLAMABAD: PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui passed away on Monday after a brief illness, his son confirmed.

His family earlier said that he had not been placed on a ventilator but was admitted to an intensive care unit due to breathing difficulties.

In a statement, the senator’s family said that Mr Siddiqui had been receiving treatment at a local hospital in Islamabad for the past few days due to respiratory distress.

President Asif Ali Zardari extended his condolences to the senator’s family on their loss, according to a statement from the President’s House.

Paying tribute to the PML-N leader, President Zardari said the late senator had made “immense contributions” to democracy in Pakistan.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also extended his condolences and praised Mr Siddiqui as a “champion of high traditions in both journalism and politics”.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry claimed that the PML-N leader had been put on a ventilator after his health had worsened.

“Senior politician and important PML-N leader Siddiqui is extremely unwell. He has been put on a ventilator due to severe illness,” said Mr Chaudhry, who is also a PML-N leader, in a post on social media platform X.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2025