ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “steadfast solidarity” with the leadership and people of Qatar on Monday as he extended condolences on the passing of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The premier arrived in Doha earlier today for a one-day visit to offer his condolences with a high-level delegation in tow, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and other senior officials.
A press release from the PM Office said that the premier and the delegation called on Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the Lusail Palace and conveyed “heartfelt condolences at the sad demise” of his father.
The prime minister paid “rich tribute” to the former emir’s “visionary leadership, statesmanship and enduring contributions to Qatar’s remarkable transformation as well as to regional peace, stability, and development”.
“The prime minister recalled with deep appreciation, the father emir’s warmth, kindness, and abiding affection for Pakistan, and his many memorable visits to the country over the years,” the statement said, adding that PM Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s “steadfast solidarity with the leadership and people of Qatar during this period of profound grief”.
The PMO said Sheikh Tamim thanked the delegation for the “special gesture of travelling to Doha to personally offer condolences, describing it as a reflection of the deep-rooted fraternal bonds between the two brotherly countries and peoples”.
The delegation was earlier received at Doha airport by Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani.
In an earlier statement, the PMO described the visit as reflecting the “decades-long fraternal ties” between Pakistan and Qatar, as well as the close relationship between the Qatari royal family, the people of Qatar, and the governments and peoples of the two countries.
Qatar’s former emir, who revolutionised Qatar out of its Bedouin background to a regional powerhouse, died at the age of 74, the nation’s Amiri Diwan, its top government body, said on Sunday.
Sheikh Hamad ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013, before abdicating to his son Sheikh Tamim.
Sheikh Hamad had elevated Qatar’s global profile through the development of the Al Jazeera television network, as well as its successful bid to host the 2022 soccer World Cup tournament.
The US-allied state is small, with more than 2.5 million people, but it is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, a global investment powerhouse, and a heavy hitter in Middle East diplomacy and international media.
Sheikh Hamad handed power to his son in June 2013 in a rare abdication by a hereditary Gulf Arab ruler to try to ensure a smooth succession. He himself had overthrown his father in a bloodless coup in 1995.
