Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Naeemul Haque passed away on Saturday, losing his long battle with cancer at the age of 70. The senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was admitted at a private hospital in the city where he breathed his last. Haque had been battling cancer for the last two years.
Haque was laid to rest in Karachi’s Gizri Graveyard on Sunday. While a number of PTI members were present at the funeral, PM Imran’s absence caused uproar considering how close the two were and the fact that Haque was one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).
Following the criticism on social media, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry explained and clarified why PM Imran and other senior members of the party were missing.
Earlier, Special Assistant to the PM for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had shared that a special prayer meet will be held for the deceased at the PM House in Islamabad.
The funeral prayer, led by former senator Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi, was held at Ayesha Masjid in DHA. Senior leaders of the PTI including Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, Asad Umar and many others attended the funeral prayer.
Leaders associated with MQM-Pakistan, PPP, PML-N among other officials were also present at the last rituals.
PM Khan had expressed his grief over the death of his friend on social media.
