LAHORE   -   Former president and Supreme Court judge Muhammad Rafiq Tarar passed away in Lahore on Monday, according to his grandson and fellow PML-N leader Ataullah Tarar. He was 92.
“My grandfather Mohammad Rafiq Tarar has passed away,” Ataullah said in a tweet. Tarar had served as the president of the country for around two and a half years. He had taken the oath as the head of the state on Jan 1, 1998 and remained in the office till June 20, 2001. He was nominated for the president’s office by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Before stepping into politics with the PML-N, Tarar had also served as a judge of the Supreme Court from January 17, 1991 to November 1, 1994. Prior to it, he was also the chief justice of the Lahore High Court from March 6, 1989 to October 31, 1991. Later, he had joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif remembered the deceased as a “kind and compassionate elder, shrewd legislator, fair judge and very good man”. He said the news of the former president’s death was a personal shock for him and his absence would always be felt. PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal also had high words of regard for the deceased. He said Tarar had persevered, “courageously” confronted the martial law of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf and refused to resign as the president.
Meanwhile, the funeral prayer of former President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was offered here at Jamia Ashrafia after Asr prayers. He passed away on Monday after protracted illness at a hospital in the provincial metropolis at the age of 92. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar would be laid to rest in his native village in Ghakhar. He was currently serving as Chairman Nazria Pakistan Trust. Prime Minister Imran Khan made prayers for the former president and his family.
President Dr Arif Alvi also expressed grief over the death and offered prayers for the deceased along with extending condolences to his family. Chief of the Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi expressed deep condolences on demise of the former President of Pakistan. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial and other Judges of Supreme Court expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad demise of former President and former Supreme Court judge Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Monday expressed deep grief over the death of former president Rafiq Tarar.