RAWALPINDI: Tributes and outpouring of grief filled Pakistani media on Saturday as entertainment celebrities, politicians and fans mourned the passing of legendary comedian Umer Sharif.
The veteran entertainer died at a hospital in Germany at the age of 66. His death was confirmed by Pakistan’s envoy to Berlin on Saturday morning.
He was flown out of Pakistan on an air ambulance last week for surgery in the United States, but had to be admitted to a hospital during a stopover in Germany as his condition deteriorated.
Prime Minister Imran Khan joined the entertainment industry in grieving Sharif’s death.
“He was one of our great entertainers and will be missed,” the prime minister said in a tweet. “My prayers & condolences go to his family.”
Born in 1955 in Karachi, Sharif introduced the concept of stage dramas in Pakistan and shot to fame in the late 1970s and 80s, soon becoming popular also in India. Two of his most popular plays are “Buddha Ghar Pe Ha” and “Bakra Qistoon Pe,” which have brought laughs to generations of fans in both countries.
“One of the sharpest wits in Pakistan Umer Sharif, is no more,” author and satirist Nadeem Paracha wrote. “He rose from a humble background in Karachi to become a giant in his field.”
Indian comedian Kapil Sharma wrote bid farewell to Sharif by saying “alvida legend,” which in Hindi means goodbye.
With a career spanning almost five decades, he has been widely known as “king of comedy.”
“Here’s to the King of Comedy,” Osman Khalid Butt wrote. “May you get the highest place in Jannah.”
Pakistani cricketers, too, paid the last tribute to the man who had made many of them smile since their childhood.
“Thank you for your invaluable services for Pakistan and making us laugh with your eternal comedy over the years,” Shahid Afridi tweeted. “You’ll be missed forever!“
“We lost a great legend today,” Fakhar Zaman tweeted. “A man who spread smiles all around the world.”
Actor Adnan Siddiqui said after all the laughs, Sharif’s passing left everyone heartbroken.
“You made us laugh so much and in end left all of us heartbroken,” he wrote. “Go, regale the heaven with your jokes.”
