Pak PM Sharif leaves for Qatar to offer condolences on former emir’s death

Islamabad, Jul 13 (PTI) Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday left for Qatar on a one-day visit to offer condolences at the death of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Qatar on Sunday announced that the former emir, 74, died. He led the country from 1995 to 2013. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were 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 at 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 Sharifs are believed to have close links with Qatar’s ruling royal family. When Nawaz Sharif was facing a corruption case in the Supreme Court in 2016-2017, 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. PTI SH RD ABD RD RD