PM Shehbaz attends memorial service for President Raisi in Tehran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday attended a memorial ceremony of late Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and his colleagues who died in a tragic helicopter crash on May 19, ARY News reported. 

During the ceremony, the prime minister visited the hall where the late president’s body was laid and offered prayers for his soul, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

PM Shehbaz paid rich tribute to Ebrahim Raisi for development and prosperity of the Iranian people, promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations and services to the region.

He expressed his condolences on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan to Iran’s Acting President Dr Muhammad Mokhber.

“The government and people of Pakistan are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the martyrdom of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s President Dr Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian, and their colleagues,” said the prime minister. “We express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and the people of Iran during this time of sorrow,” he added.

He also reminisced about President Raisi’s recent visit to Pakistan, highlighting the memorable moments shared with the Pakistani people. “The late Iranian president was a great friend of Pakistan. The moments he spent with the Pakistani people during his visit last month will always be remembered,” he said.

The prime minister expressed his best wishes for Iran’s acting.

PM Shehbaz was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and SAPM Mr. Tariq Fatimi.

Read More: PM Shehbaz visits Iran Embassy to condole deaths of President Raisi, others

Earlier in the day, the prime minister arrived in Tehran for a daylong visit. Upon his arrival at Tehran International Airport, he was received by the Iranian Minister for Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash.

Raisi’s helicopter crashed Sunday on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran on the way to the city of Tabriz after the group attended the inauguration of a dam project on the border with Azerbaijan.

A huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from Turkey, Russia and the European Union. State television announced Raisi’s death early on Monday.

Raisi, who was widely expected to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader, was 63.

Huge crowds of Iranians thronged the streets of the capital Tehran on Wednesday for the funeral procession of Raisi and his entourage. In the city centre, mourners clutching portraits of Raisi gathered in and around the University of Tehran, where Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led the prayers.

Flanked by top officials, Ayatollah Khamenei said prayers over the coffins of the dead, who also included Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

The leader of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, joined the procession, as did the deputy leader of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, Naim Qassem.

From Tehran, the bodies will be taken to Iran’s second city of Mashhad, Raisi’s hometown in the northeast, where he will be buried on Thursday evening after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine.