'Her political struggle will be remembered' - Malala in tribute to Kulsoom

KARACHI: Pakistani Noble Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday expressed grief over demise of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, and prayed for the departed soul.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of the former First Lady of Pakistan Begum Kalsoom Nawaz. Heartfelt condolences to all her family and prayers for the departed soul.

“Her political struggle and courage will be remembered,” she wrote in a tweet.

Kulsoom Nawaz breathed her last at London’s Harley Street Clinic after prolonged illness. The former first lady was suffering from throat cancer. She is survived by her husband and four children — Hassan, Hussain, Maryam and Asma.

Her funeral prayers will be offered at the Regent’s Park mosque in central London and she would be buried at the Sharif family’s ancestral cemetery in Jati Umra, Lahore.

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The political career of the ex-first lady remains far from any controversy, unlike embroilment of her family members in different cases.

Born into a Kashmiri family in Lahore, she attended Islamia College and Foreman Christian College University for her graduation. Kulsoom was married to Nawaz Sharif, with whom she has four children. Kulsoom Nawaz served as the President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) from 1999 to 2002.

Kulsoom became first lady of Pakistan for the first time after her husband, Nawaz Sharif, became prime minister of Pakistan on 1 November 1990 when his political alliance, Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, won 104 of 207 seats contested in the general election of 1990.