ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be representing Pakistan at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday, September 19, the Pakistani foreign office said on Saturday. 

Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s figurehead and a towering presence on the world stage, died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. She was aged 96. 

The UK's longest-serving monarch, who died after 70 years on the throne, is at rest in Westminster Hall ahead of Monday's state funeral at neighboring Westminster Abbey. 

On Saturday, the Pakistani foreign office confirmed that PM Sharif has been invited by the British government to the state funeral. 

"At the invitation of the British government, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will represent Pakistan at the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in London on 19 September 2022," the foreign office said in a statement. 

Pakistan officially observed September 12 as a day of mourning over the passing of Queen Elizabeth, who ascended to the throne in 1953 after the death of her father, King George VI, when she was only 25.

On September 10, Charles III was officially proclaimed king at a pomp-filled ceremony. 

Queen Elizabeth 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. 

PM Sharif has already departed for the UK to attend the queen’s funeral, according to a statement issued by the Pakistani government.

He is scheduled to later participate in the High-Level Debate of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in the United States on September 20-26.