Modi Offers Condolences to Nawaz Sharif on His Mother’s Demise

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, extended his condolences to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, on the sad demise of his mother in the last days of the month of November. Begum Shamim Akhtar, the mother of the PML-N founder, had succumbed to deteriorating health and passed away. 

The former premier has developed somewhat of a personal rapport with Modi and received a condolence letter from him in the last week. It was personally delivered to the Vice President of PML-N, Maryam Nawaz, by the Indian diplomatic mission in the capital city of the country. The letter sent by the leader of India was addressed directly to Nawaz Sharif and referred to him as the former Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 

On the other hand, the founder of PML-N has been in London for the past year. He had been sentenced to a jail term due to being found guilty in a graft case by the Supreme Court. However, in the last few months of 2019, he requested to be granted a one-time permission so he could receive treatment for his undiagnosed illness. Sharif was allowed to fly out for four weeks but, he has not returned ever since.

In addition, the former premier has refused to even serve out his jail sentence. This forced the hand of the courts who deemed him as a proclaimed offender in various other cases that were filed against him. 

The mother of the leader of PML-N, Begum Shamim Akhtar, passed away on the 22nd of November in London. Her body was consequently flown to the city of Lahore. Here her body was laid to rest at the family estate of the Sharifs, which is located right on the edge of the city. 

The letter was dated the 27th of November in which the Indian leader extended his ‘heartfelt condolences’ to the former premier over the death of his mother. He stated that he had been deeply saddened by the news and took to offering his condolences as soon as he found out. A copy of the letter is available with various media outlets. 

It further talked about the time Modi had had the chance to meet with the deceased. He had been traveling to New Delhi in India from Kabul in the year 2015, when he had a surprise stopover in the city of Lahore. He recalled how Begum Shamim Akhtar had welcomed him and he had been touched by her warmth and simplicity. The letter also included prayers from the Prime Minister of India who wished Sharif and his family strength to ‘bear this irreparable loss’. 

Back in the year 2015, and announced stopover in the city of Lahore had been made by Modi himself. He had been returning from his daylong trip to Afghanistan. Nawaz Sharif himself had given the leader of India a red carpet welcome at the Allama Iqbal International Airport. 

From here, the two had flown together to the palatial residence of the Sharif family in Raiwind. Subsequently, Modi was invited to attend the wedding ceremony of Mehrun Nisa, the granddaughter of Nawaz Sharif.