Funeral prayers to be offered today at Polo Ground in Malir Cantt n NA offers Fateha for former president while ruling coalition in Senate turns down chairman’s proposal to offer prayers.

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD       -     A special plane carrying the mortal remains of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf landed at Karachi airport on Monday night.

Gen (retd) Musharraf had breathed his last on Sunday at a hospital in Dubai at the age of 79. Along with the body of the deceased, the widow of the ex-army chief and their children were also flown in the special flight.

Upon arrival, the plane was parked near the old terminal at the airport. The dead body and the aggrieved family were then taken to their destination from the old terminal under tight security. The bereaved family formally approached Pakistan’s consulate in Dubai on Sunday, seeking permission to shift the mortal remains of Musharraf to his homeland.

It is pertinent to mention here that the former president’s mother was buried in Dubai while his father was laid to rest in Karachi. According to reports, the funeral prayer of the former president will be offered today the Polo Ground in Malir Cantt, Karachi. Meanwhile, the National Assembly offered Fateha for the departed soul of Gen. (R) Pervez Musharraf. Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani asked MQM-P lawmaker Abubakar to offer the Fateha. However, the Senate on Monday witnessed rare scenes when the ruling coalition turned down a proposal of the chair to offer prayers for the departed soul of former military ruler Gen Musharraf while the opposition PTI strongly supported the move.

The house witnessed an uproar when treasury lawmakers, mostly belonging to PPP and PML-N, gathered around the main dais of Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani to protest against the remarks of Leader of the Opposition in the House Dr Shahzad Waseem he gave in favour of former President Musharraf. After getting to know that there was severe reaction from the house, the chair withdrew his proposal regarding offering fateha for the former army chief and PTI insisted to do so and offered prayers for the deceased on its own.

At the very outset of the sitting, the chairman Senate while following the parliamentary practice proposed that the house should offer prayers for victims of earthquake in Turkiye, Syria and Lebanon as well as for Musharraf, who breathed his last in Dubai, the other day.

On this, the treasury raised slogans of ‘no, no.’ Soon after sensitizing the gravity of the situation, the chairman asked opposition Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed to proceed by offering prayers at least for earthquake victims. But the opposition lawmaker especially mentioned that there would be no prayers for Musharraf.

Leader of the Opposition Waseem, who remained a member of Musharraf’s cabinet, amidst a tumult asked as to what was the harm in it. He said that the house could hold a debate on the tenure of the former ruler but such behaviour was unfair. “He was a certified traitor,” Senator Mushtaq replied and added that he broke the Constitution twice, attacked the judiciary and was responsible for “inferno” in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The opposition leader again defended Musharraf and said that they had seen civilian dictators in this country and said that democracy reflected in behaviours. “We have gone to that extent that we cannot pray for the departed soul,” he deplored.