PML-N stalwart Senator Irfan Siddiqui passes away

• PML-N stalwart breathes his last at an Islamabad hospital.

• President Zardari pays tribute to Siddiqui’s services to democracy.
• PM says Pakistan has lost a thinker and a principled intellectual.
  

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui passed away in Islamabad on Monday after battling illness for the past two weeks, Geo News reported.

Siddiqui had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in the federal capital, where his condition deteriorated before his demise.

He served as the PML-N’s parliamentary leader in the Senate and was known as one of the closest aides to party president Nawaz Sharif.

The veteran lawmaker was also a member of committees on Business Advisory, Human Rights, Information and Broadcasting, Interior and Narcotics Control, and National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.

He was also a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. The PML-N stalwart was elected to the Senate on a general seat from Punjab.

The PML-N lawmaker was also a columnist for Daily Jang.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Senator Irfan Siddiqui. In his condolence message, the president paid tribute to the late senator’s remarkable services for the promotion and strengthening of democracy in Pakistan. He also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the family of the deceased Senator. The premier says he is deeply saddened by the news of Siddiqui’s passing and added that Pakistan has lost a serious thinker, teacher and principled intellectual.

He paid tribute to Siddiqui’s lifelong dedication to knowledge, tolerance and seriousness. The PM further said that Siddiqui was a senior member and close associate of the PML-N, counting among the loyal companions of Nawaz Sharif and the party.

The PM remarked that Siddiqui’s services to the party will always be remembered and that his scholarly contributions and national insight will serve as a guiding light for future generations.

He described Siddiqui as compassionate, humble and exceptionally refined, and said his demise is a great loss to him personally, the intellectual world and society.

He prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi extended his condolences to the bereaved family of the PML-N senior leader. He paid rich tribute to the senator’s outstanding contributions in the fields of journalism and politics, saying Senator Siddiqui upheld high traditions both as a journalist and as a politician.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of Senator Siddiqui, saying Pakistani politics has lost a distinguished and dignified politician.