Former Punjab | Pakistan

Former Punjab chief minister Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo passed away in Lahore on Tuesday, his secretary Muhammad Asif confirmed to Dawn. He was 86 years old. Asif said the veteran politician died after a prolonged illness and is survived by three sons and four daughters. His grandson, columnist Hassan Kamal Wattoo, also posted about the former CM’s demise on social media platform X. “With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of my beloved grandfather, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo,” he said, adding that funeral prayers would be held at the Wasawewala stadium in Okara at 2pm tomorrow. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep grief over his demise, a post on the Presidency’s X account said. It added that the president paid tribute to Wattoo’s “invaluable public service, role in strengthening democracy, and contributions to national unity”. State-run APP reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condoled his death, saying in a statement that “services of late Manzoor Wattoo for the country’s politics will...

Former Punjab governor and PTI-backed MNA Mian Muhammad Azhar passed away on Tuesday, his party confirmed. The PTI announced the death in a post on X and extended its condolences to his son and party leader, Hammad Azhar. Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan praised him as a person of “noble character” whose “political and national services” would be remembered for a long time. Former Sindh governor and ex-PTI leader Imran Ismail said he was deeply saddened to hear of the death and praised the deceased as a “distinguished political figure”. He was the governor of Punjab from August 11, 1990, till April 10, 1993. He was also the founding president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and joined the PTI in October 2011. He was the PTI-backed candidate in the February 2024 general elections for NA-129(Lahore-XIII) and joined the Sunni Ittehad Council later on. In January 2024, he was also taken into custody in Lahore only to be released after a few hours as police launched a crackdown on PTI-affiliated candid...