ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): A senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a close aide of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, passed away on Monday.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a private hospital due to respiratory distress. He was ill for the past two weeks and was undergoing treatment, his family said.
According to family sources, his health had been bad for a few days. He was shifted to the hospital after his sudden deterioration, where doctors put him on a ventilator.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui was also the PML-N’s parliamentary leader in the Senate.
The veteran lawmaker was also a member of committees on Business Advisory, Human Rights, Information and Broadcasting, Interior and Narcotics Control, and National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.
According to government sources, Irfan Siddiqui’s health was bad at the time of the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. At that time, it was said that he was on oxygen and might not be able to vote in the House.
The government had said that 64 members were present for a two-thirds majority.
Party leaders and politicians have expressed deep sorrow over the death of Irfan Siddiqui and appealed for prayers for his forgiveness.
President Asif Ali Zardari extended his condolences on the senator’s passing to his family, according to a statement from the President’s House. He paid tribute to Senator Siddiqui as someone who had made “immense contributions” to democracy in Pakistan.
