TEHRAN (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces/Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir have landed in Tehran to attend the funeral of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state-media PTV News reported.
Iranian senior civil-military officials, including the Minister of Defense and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who had already reached Tehran, warmly welcomed Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with a high-level delegation, also arrived in the Iranian capital for a one-day visit to attend the funeral ceremony of Khamenei, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
The prime minister was accompanied by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and parliamentarians.
Upon his arrival at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, the prime minister was received by Iranian Minister for Interior Eskandar Momeni, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, and senior diplomatic officials from both countries.
During his stay in Tehran, Prime Minister Shehbaz will participate in the last rites of the late Iranian Supreme Leader.
“He will express heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Pakistani people and government to the Iranian leadership and bereaved families, and reaffirm Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the brotherly Iranian nation in this hour of grief,” the statement added.
In addition, after wrapping up his visit to Iran, the premier would fly onward to Turkiye.
Earlier on Wednesday, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani landed in Tehran along with a high-level delegation to attend the funeral prayers and burial ceremonies earlier in the day, PTV reported.
Iranian officials welcomed the delegation when they arrived in Tehran. China, Afghanistan, and Iran’s neighbours in the Caucasus region have also been represented at these events.
During funeral ceremonies, the supreme leader’s body will move along a sequence of places that represent the main religious, political, and ideological aspects of the Islamic Republic, starting with his place of power in Tehran and then including some important holy sites such as Qom, Karbala, Najaf, and lastly Mashhad.
