Mian Mohammad Sharif, father of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was laid to rest at Jatti Umra (Raiwind) on Monday. His body was denied access to Lahore City for Namaz-e-Janaza and was directly shifted from the Lahore Airport to Raiwind on a helicopter.
The body, accompanied by ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Brig Javed Iqbal, Dr Adnan and a personal attendant of Sharif family, arrived at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in the early morning on a PIA flight from Karachi and was taken to the old airport where a helicopter was waiting, thus denying entry into the city.
Mian Sharif was laid to rest in the afternoon at Jatti Umra. A large number of people from the nearby villages also appeared to pay their last respects. Furthermore, apart from the PML-N leadership, Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and Nawabzada Mansoor Ali Khan of ARD were also present at the time of the burial. Heavy contingent of police was present at Raiwind and barriers were placed on the routes leading to Jatti Umra. However, no untoward incident was reported during the funeral.
Salman Shahbaz, younger son of Shahbaz Sharif, accompanied by Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, Raja Zafarul Haq, Siranjam Khan, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Malik Pervaiz, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Mian Asad Ashraf, Farrukh Shah, Mian Rashid, Bilal Yaseen, Asghar Sarwar and Rana Tanvir and former NA speaker Illahi Bux Soomro, was present at the airport to receive the body of Mian Sharif. The disappointment was obvious on the face of Salman Shahbaz and others when they came to know that the body would be sent to Jatti Umra on a helicopter. They had planned to take the body to Data Darbar for the Namaz-e-Janaza.
While talking to newsmen at the airport, Salman Shahbaz said that he was there to receive his grandfather's body, but the government has denied him his fundamental right. "Mian Sharif's funeral has no political connotations and we have no intention of gaining political mileage from the sad incident," he added.
According to them, the government should have refrained from placing conditions on the Sharif family to attend the funeral, which was unjustified. The drama staged by the government was condemnable, as it was violation of fundamental rights of an individual, they added.
When a PML (N) leader, Mian Rashid and journalists approached Tariq Sheikh, a senior airport official, for information regarding the release of the body, he told them the body has been handed over to Brig. Javed Iqbal and flown to Raiwind on a helicopter. In fact all the officials refused to help, as according to Tariq they have been instructed to abstain from the matter.
Meanwhile, police officials were deployed on the routes leading to the airport and Raiwind, to deter PML-N workers from reaching there. Senior police officials at a police picket established about 2-km outside the airport were seen checking all the vehicles. They were only permitting passengers with confirm tickets. A long queue of vehicles was witnessed at the picket and many passengers who were getting late for their flights opted to walk a good few kilometres. Journalists were also being denied to enter. After the Zohr prayers, Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza was offered at Data Darbar in the presence of heavy police by Hamza and Salman Shahbaz Sharif, ARD Chairman Amin Fahim, Mian Azhar, LCCI President Mian Misbahur Rehman and scores of PML-N leaders including Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, Raja Zafarul Haq, Illahi Bux Soomro, Qasim Zia, Muhammad Medhi, besides hundreds of others.
While talking to newsmen, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Mian Azhar and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the government's action. They said that Mian Sharif was not a politician, but the government's unjustified action gave the funeral a political colour. They claimed that till Sunday night the administration had kept them in the dark over holding the Namaz-e-Janaza at Data Darbar with the aim of discouraging people to attend the funeral.
"No hurdle was created in the way of offering funeral prayer of Mian Sharif at Data Darbar and police had been directed not to stop anybody coming for the purpose," Pervaiz Elahi said.
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