Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday left for Qatar on a one-day visit to offer condolences on the death of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Qatar announced on Sunday that the former emir had died at the age of 74. He led the country from 1995 to 2013.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif are also accompanying Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on X.
“The prime minister will meet with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and express condolences on the passing of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” it said.
The statement added that PM Sharif’s visit reflects the decades-long ties between the Qatari royal family, the Qatari people, and the government and people of Pakistan.
The Sharif family has longstanding ties with Qatar’s ruling royal family.
When Nawaz Sharif was facing a corruption case in the Supreme Court in 2016 and 2017, his family submitted letters from former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani in his defence.
However, the Supreme Court did not accept the letters as valid proof of a money trail, and Nawaz Sharif was dismissed as prime minister and subsequently convicted of corruption.
