The first death anniversary of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is being observed today (Wednesday).
Begum Kulsoom Nawaz was born on March 29, 1950, in a Kashmiri family. Kulsoom passed his graduation from Islamia College Lahore and completed MA in Urdu poetry from Punjab University. She also received a Ph.D. degree.
She had the honour of serving as the first lady thrice. She is the granddaughter of legendary wrestler Ghulam Mohammad Baksh known as ‘Gama Pahalwan’.She tied the knot with Nawaz Sharif on April 2, 1970. Kulsoom was blessed with two sons and two daughters. She became the First Lady of Pakistan on November 6, 1990.
When retired Gen Pervez Musharraf toppled Nawaz Sharif’s government in 1999 and arrested members of his family before sending them to exile, Kulsoom became the party’s president till 2002.
She was also elected MNA from the family seat of the Sharifs in Lahore NA-120 when her husband was disqualified in the Panama Papers case in July, 2017.
Unfortunately, Begum Kulsoom diagnosed with throat cancer and she left for London for surgery on August 17.
Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former Prime Minister had decided to oversee the election campaign for her ailing mother.She had run the election campaign of her mother very actively, nicely and elegantly.
Begum Kulsoom Nawaz left behind four children, two daughters Asma and Maryam, two sons Hasan and Hussain.Begum Kulsoom died of cancer in London on Sept 11, 2018. The three-time first lady was diagnosed with early-stage lymphoma in August 2017 and taken to London where she underwent multiple surgeries and at least five chemotherapy sessions.
She had suffered a cardiac arrest and was placed on a ventilator in June before she breathed her last on Sept 11.On Sept 13, she was laid to rest at Jati Umra, the Sharif family residence in Lahore, near the graves of her father-in-law Mian Sharif and brother-in-law Abbas Sharif.
