KARACHI/ISLAMABAD - Seasoned politician and National Party chief Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo passed away on Thursday. He was 62.

The veteran politician belonging to Balochistan was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi. He was suffering from lungs cancer.

National Party has announced 10-day mourning over the demise of the party chief during which all political activities will remain suspended.

Bizenjo’s funeral prayer will be offered today (Friday) at 5pm in his native village, Naal in Khuzdar district. He will be buried in his family cemetery next to his father, Mir Ghous Baksh Bizenjo. Bizenjo served as Minister for Maritime Affairs during the PML-N’s last tenure (2013 to2018) in the federal government.

Meanwhile, politicians, journalists and intellectuals have expressed grief and sorrow over senator’s death.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa also expressed grief over his demise and extended condolences to the senator’s family and friends, according to a tweet by the DG ISPR. Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal shared his condolences in a tweet. 

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said political and social services of late Hasil Bizenjo would long be remembered.

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet said he was “shocked and saddened” by the news of Bizenjo’s death.

COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa expresses grief

“As a distinguished politician from Balochistan, he represented the voice of the people of his province & stood for progressive & rule-based politics.”

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari described his death as “a great loss to the country, its democratic forces and Balochistan”.

“Bizenjo remained in the forefront in the struggle for supremacy of the Constitution and strengthening of democracy” and was “a strong voice against injustices to Balochistan,” Bilawal said in a statement.

PPP leader and Senator Sherry Rehman said she was “shocked, saddened and bereaved” to hear of his passing.

“He had been battling cancer so bravely few suspected how advanced the disease was. His public life was marked by progressive, principled politics as an advocate for the vulnerable. End of an era,” she wrote.

In his condolence message, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said he had spent a great time and learned a lot from Bijenzo during their time together in the Senate. He said Pakistan had lost a seasoned political leader in his death.

Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani in a tweet recalled Bizenjo as a strong, progressive democrat and a kind leader with whom he had a political association of two decades.