ISLAMABAD: Funeral prayers for Kulsoom Nawaz, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife, were offered at the Islamic Cultural Center in London on Thursday. The prayers were attended by sons Hassan and Hussain, brother-in-law Shehbaz Sharif, Chaudhry Nisar and Ishaq Dar, among others.
The former first lady’s body will be flown back to Pakistan on Thursday night by daughter Asma, Hussain Nawaz’s son, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chief Shehbaz Sharif and other family members. Hassan and Hussain will not travel to Pakistan for their mother’s funeral. Kulsoom will be laid to rest at Jati Umra, the family’s private residence near Lahore.
Pakistan’s three-time premier Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, and her husband Capt. Mohammad Safdar — currently serving sentences for corruption — have been temporarily released on parole to attend the funeral. Jati Umra has been declared a sub-jail, with the trio confined to three rooms within the residence.
On Sept. 12, the Punjab cabinet extended the parole time to 62 hours.
Kulsoom Nawaz’s funeral held in London
Kulsoom Nawaz’s funeral held in London
- Funeral prayers for Kulsoom Nawaz were offered at the Islamic Cultural Center in London on Thursday
- Kulsoom will be laid to rest at Jati Umra, the family’s private residence near Lahore
IMF hails Pakistan privatization drive, calls PIA sale a ‘milestone’
- Fund backs sale of national airline as key step in divesting loss-making state firms
- IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce fiscal burden posed by state-owned entities
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan’s privatization efforts, describing the sale of the country’s national airline to a private consortium last month as a milestone that could help advance the divestment of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The comments follow the government’s sale of a 75 percent stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group for Rs 135 billion ($486 million) after several rounds of bidding in a competitive process, marking Islamabad’s second attempt to privatize the carrier after a failed effort a year earlier.
Between the two privatization attempts, PIA resumed flight operations to several international destinations after aviation authorities in the European Union and Britain lifted restrictions nearly five years after the airline was grounded following a deadly Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in 2020 that killed 97 people.
“We welcome the authorities’ privatization efforts and the completion of the PIA privatization process, which was a commitment under the EFF,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said in response to an Arab News query, referring to the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
“This privatization represents a milestone within the authorities’ reform agenda, aimed at decreasing governmental involvement in commercial sectors and attracting investments to promote economic growth in Pakistan,” he added.
The IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce the fiscal burden posed by loss-making state firms, which have weighed public finances for years and required repeated government bailouts. Beyond PIA, the government has signaled plans to restructure or sell stakes in additional SOEs as part of broader reforms under the IMF program.
Privatization also remains politically sensitive in Pakistan, with critics warning of job losses and concerns over national assets, while supporters argue private sector management could improve efficiency and service delivery in chronically underperforming entities.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises said on Friday that SOEs recorded a net loss of Rs 122.9 billion ($442 million) in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs 30.6 billion ($110 million) in the previous year.
