PESHAWAR: Muhammad Azam Khan, the interim chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, passed away on Saturday after being rushed to the hospital due to his deteriorating health the previous day.
A former civil servant, Khan was appointed to the post in January of this year after former prime minister Imran Khan dissolved the provincial assembly in an attempt to exert pressure on the government to hold early national elections.
Advocate Sawal Nazir, the provincial caretaker minister for local government and rural development, told Arab News he received the news early in the morning.
“The late chief minister was in his 90s,” he said. “As you know, old age itself can be a form of ailment. Additionally, the late chief minister was grappling with acute health issues, including a heart problem.”
Nazir added that Khan had been unable to chair a meeting of the provincial health department on Friday due to his illness.
“Legally, if the chief minister resigns or passes away, the cabinet is dissolved,” he explained.
Muhammad Azam Khan, hailing from Charsadda city, had previously served as the provincial finance minister. He also held the positions of secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources in Islamabad and chief secretary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 1990 to July 1993.
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar expressed deep sorrow and grief over Khan’s passing in a statement, offering prayers for the deceased and condolences to the bereaved family.
“Azam Khan served the people all his life as a dutiful and competent officer,” the PM said. “His role as a public officer will be a beacon for all civil servants.”
Kakar highlighted that the late chief minister had managed the administrative affairs of his province in a challenging situation.
“Khan took all possible measures to prevent law and order problems and smuggling in the province,” he continued.
The funeral prayer for the deceased chief minister will be held in his hometown of Charsadda at 3:30 pm today.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan passes away
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan passes away
- Caretaker PM Kakar says Khan’s role as a public officer will be a beacon for all civil servants in Pakistan
- His demise may lead to the dissolution of the provincial cabinet under the legal framework of the country
Pakistan to sign preferential trade agreement with Russia during Sharif’s upcoming visit — envoy
- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif plans to visit Russia on March 3-5, Russian state news agency RIA reported this month
- Islamabad will also organize Russia-Pakistan Business Forum, which will have participation from more than 100 Pakistani firms
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is seeking to sign a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Russia to boost bilateral trade volume during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to Moscow, Pakistan’s ambassador to Moscow has said.
Pakistani Ambassador Faisal Niaz Tirmizi said this during the Moscow-Islamabad media forum, which was hosted by Sputnik ahead of Sharif’s scheduled visit to Moscow next month.
Pakistan and Russia, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years. In 2023, Islamabad began purchasing discounted Russian crude oil banned from European markets over Ukraine war, and also received first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas from Moscow.
The volume of Russia-Pakistan trade rose more than 100 percent to $1.81 billion from July 2023 till June 2024, though it experienced slight contraction in the last fiscal year, according to officials.
“Once the prime minister is here, we will start the process of signing PTA with the Eurasian Economic Union and the Russian Federation,” Tirmizi said at the forum.
Pakistan and Russia are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian political, economic and security organization, and have had sustained high-level interactions and institutional mechanisms in recent years.
PM Sharif plans to visit Russia on March 3-5, Russian state news agency RIA reported this month, citing a Pakistani official.
Tirmizi said Russia-Pakistan ties were not only strategic or bilateral, but they had commercial, people-to-people and business dimensions as well.
“I am very happy to announce that Pakistan is also organizing the second Russia-Pakistan Business Forum during this visit,” he said.
“Over a hundred companies, hundred leading companies are coming from Pakistan to interact with the Russian partners.”
