Actress Meera has thanked Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz for helping arrange the final rites of her younger sister Shaista Abbas, who died of cancer in London.
Meera posted a message on Facebook, stating that the chief minister stood by her family during one of its hardest periods. “I thank the Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who stood by my sister throughout her treatment,” she wrote.
Meera said her sister is gone but the support will stay with the family. “The kindness shown by Maryam Nawaz Sharif during this most difficult time will always remain alive, and we will never forget her,” she wrote. She prayed that Allah would give the chief minister the ability to keep serving people.
She also said Maryam Nawaz spoke to the British High Commissioner in Pakistan to help with the burial in England, and that the chief minister handled the arrangements. “By the grace of Allah and your help, the last rites of my deceased sister have been completed,” Meera wrote. She added a separate thank you to Maryam Aurangzeb.
Meera’s other sister Aqsa shared a detail about Shaista’s final moments after her death. She said Shaista was in sajda, the prostration in prayer, when she died. Aqsa also remembered the strength and courage Shaista showed while she fought cancer.
Shaista Abbas, a lawyer based in London, died in a hospital there after a prolonged battle with cancer. Meera confirmed the news to Geo News from New York. Aqsa told Geo News that Shaista had been in hospital for the last two months. Shaista leaves behind a young daughter, and reports say Meera plans to adopt her.
Meera could not reach London before her sister’s death. She said that she applied repeatedly for a British visa, including on humanitarian grounds, but did not receive one.
In July 2025, she publicly asked British High Commissioner Jane Marriott to consider her application on its merits.
