Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a letter to former Pakistan Minister Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to extend his “heartfelt condolences” over his mother’s death on November 22.
Pakistan-based journalist Naila Inayat on Thursday shared the letter on Twitter written by Prime Minister Modi to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif condoling the demise of Nawaz Sharif’s mother. In the letter dated November 27, Prime Minister Modi also prayed the almighty to bestow strength upon Sharif fand his family to bear the loss.
“Dear Mian Sahib, I am deeply saddened to learn about the demise of your mother Begum Shamim Akhtar on November 22 in London. My heartfelt condolences are with you in this hour of intense grief,” PM Modi wrote in the letter, which was also released by the PML-N on Thursday.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi wrote a condolence letter to former PM Nawaz Sharif on the demise of his mother. “I recall my interaction with her during my brief visit to Lahore in 2015. Her simplicity and warmth was indeed very touching,” he wrote. pic.twitter.com/CLYBTZjWI7
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) December 17, 2020
Reportedly, the letter was forwarded to Sharif’s daughter and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad last week requesting her to convey the message to her father, who is currently residing in London.
Prime Minister Modi recalls interaction with Sharif’s mother
Prime Minister Modi also recalled his interaction with Sharif’s mother during his brief surprise visit to Lahore in 2015. In the letter, PM Modi said, “Her simplicity and warmth was indeed very touching.”
“In this moment of profound grief, I pray to the Almighty to bestow strength upon you and your family to bear this irreparable loss,” he added.
Shamim Akhtar, the mother of Nawaz Sharif, passed away in London on November 22. However, her remains were brought to Pakistan for burial at the family’s estate at Jati Umra in Lahore.
In a separate letter, Indian Charge d’Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia had sent to Maryam Sharif on December 11 at her Lahore residence requesting her to convey the condolence message to Nawaz in London.
Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister is accused in a number of corruption cases, is currently residing in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treating the heart disease and an immune system disorder.
Recently in September, the erstwhile Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif addressed the people of Pakistan from London during a multi-party video conference. Sharif, who had been languishing in the jail and had been out of the country for medical treatment, lambasted the Pakistani army establishment for destroying democracy, dismissing elected governments, installing incapable puppets, and so on.
At the very onset, Nawaz Sharif said, “Pakistan has been devoid of a parliamentary system of democracy, even though this is enshrined in our Constitution. But when it is decided (by an external force) as to who should win or lose, it betrays the public mandate…Sadly, Pakistan has become a laboratory for such deceitful experiments. Even if a government is formed democratically, then, it is weakened internally and then dismissed. All of this is done with forethought as to how their actions will lead to trust-deficit amongst people in the country’s institutions.”
Narrating his ordeal, Nawaz Sharif stated, “The Establishment should not arrest a sitting Prime Minister at gun-point…I am pained everytime I remember this. It feels bad when I realise that we have made the country a joke in our eyes and that of the world.” He also called for co-operation and unity amongst the Opposition to put up a rigid fight against the current political and military dispensation.