Kulsoom Nawaz death: Former Pakistani first lady dies in London

'She was a courageous woman of great dignity and confronted her disease with fortitude'

Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of Pakistan's former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, talks to reporters in Islamabad, Pakistan (File photo) (AP)

Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of Pakistan’s former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has died in hospital in London after months in critical condition.

Maryam Aurangzeb, spokeswoman for the Pakistan Muslim League party, said Ms Nawaz had died before dawn on Tuesday, aged 68.

“We announce with pain, sorrow and grief that Kulsoom Nawaz is no more among us,” she added.

She said arrangements were being made to transport Nawaz’s body to Pakistan for burial.

Shortly after the announcement of her death, Pakistani television showed Sharif’s two sons and other relatives and supporters standing grimly outside the London hospital and receiving condolences.

Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan, president Arif Alvi, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and political leaders including political rival and former president, Asif Zardari, expressed their sorrow over Nawaz’s death and conveyed their sympathy to her family.

“She was a courageous woman of great dignity and confronted her disease with fortitude,” Mr Khan said on Twitter.

Nawaz had been suffering from throat cancer and she underwent surgery last year, having been diagnosed only a month after her husband was removed from office by the supreme court. Her condition deteriorated some months ago and she had been in a coma since.

Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were not present in London at the time of her death because both have been in prison in Pakistan since July when they returned home to serve their sentences in corruption cases.

Three-time premier Sharif stepped down after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding office last year for concealing his assets abroad. Later, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison over the family’s purchase of luxury apartments in London.

Sharif appeared in court in Islamabad on Tuesday. He has applied for bail but a court is still to rule on his request. The government is likely to release Sharif and his daughter on parole to participate in Nawaz’s funeral, which has not yet been scheduled.

Mourners have started gathering outside Sharif’s residence in the eastern city of Lahore.

Nawaz was briefly a member of parliament after she won her husband’s former seat in a by-election after the Supreme Court disqualified him, and served as president of the Pakistan Muslim League for three years.

Additional reporting by agencies