Veteran television actor Naila Jaffery passed away on Saturday evening in Karachi after a prolonged struggle with cancer, according to the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

She will be laid to rest after Isha prayers at the Army graveyard at Chanesar Goth.

Jaffery's career on television spanned nearly three decades but came to an abrupt end following her cancer diagnosis in 2016. Her last appearances were in Khushboo Ka Safar and Ghalti the same year.

Apart from acting, Naila was also a fashion designer and ran her own clothing boutique.

Condolences immediately poured from industry colleagues. "She was a force to be reckoned with, strong and positive in the face of a terrible illness," wrote Mansha Pasha on Twitter.

In a video that went viral in April, Jaffery appealed to channel executives to pay out royalties to actors for drama reruns, saying one show she had starred in had been aired four times without compensation. In response to her impassioned appeal, Sindh's Minister for Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Sardar Shah offered on behalf of the government to bear the expenses of her treatment. She reportedly turned down the offer.