ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will observe a day of mourning on Monday over the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the Pakistani information minister said on Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s figurehead and a towering presence on the world stage for seven decades, died at her Scottish home on Thursday, hours after doctors said she was under medical supervision.
The royal family has revealed plans for a grand state funeral of the Queen on September 19, which is expected to be attended by foreign leaders and watched by millions worldwide.
In Pakistan, the foreign ministry had suggested the government to officially observe a day of mourning on the demise of the Queen.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given an approval to observe a day of mourning on the passing of Britain’s Queen,” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a statement.
“September 12 will be observed as the day of mourning in Pakistan.”
She said the government had directed the cabinet division to make all necessary arrangements in this regard.
Queen Elizabeth had ascended to the throne in 1953 after the death of her father, King George VI, when she was only 25. She ruled Britain for over 70 years.
Pakistan’s prime minister, president and the foreign minister this week joined several world leaders in paying their respects to the Queen as Britain plunged into sorrow.
The Queen visited Pakistan as Head of the Commonwealth in 1961, waving to crowds as she rode in a convertible through the streets of Karachi. During her second visit in 1997, she addressed a joint sitting of Pakistan’s parliament in 1997 and spoke at a banquet hosted by former president Farooq Leghari.
Pakistan remained a dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations until 1956 even after securing independence from the British rule about a decade ago.
The Queen’s constitutional role was delegated to the governor-general during the initial years after the birth of the country.
On Sunday, India observed a day of national mourning to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II, as her death showed a glimpse of modern India and its relations to colonialism.
In India, the largest in the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of mostly former British colonies, the national flag was flown at half-mast throughout the country on Sunday as a “mark of respect” for the queen’s passing, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
As tributes for the queen poured in from across the world, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said she will be remembered as “a stalwart of our times.”
“She provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
“Pained by her demise. My thoughts are with her family and people of UK in this sad hour.”
But beyond official remarks, Elizabeth’s death was met with muted reactions across India, a nation that has sought to remove vestiges of the colonial era and has overtaken the British economy in size.
