Former president Mamnoon Hussain dies in Karachi at 80

The former president of Pakistan and PML-N loyalist Mamnoon Hussain passed away in Karachi on the 14th of July 2020, Wednesday after fighting a prolonged illness, with his family and party leaders. He was 80.

Hussain served as the 12th President of Pakistan between September 2013- September 2018. He replaced President Asif Ali Zardari and was succeeded by now President Arif Alvi.

He was diagnosed with cancer in February last year and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi since a few weeks, where he breathed his last, leaving behind a widow and three sons. The time and place of his funeral prayers are going to be announced later, sources close to the family said.
Politicians belonging to different political parties expressed their grief and condolences at the passing of the former president. President Arif Alvi expressed sorrow over his demise, saying he shared the pain of his bereaved family.

President PML-N Shehbaz Sharif, also shared his thoughts over Hussain’s death in a Tweet “Today, we’ve lost a valued one that loved Pakistan and had an honest character, He was Nawaz Sharif’s trustworthy, loyal and ideological companion. He stood by the party through all the highs and lows. His services for the country and therefore the nation are going to be remembered for long,” Shehbaz said.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa also expressed his condolences on Hussain’s demise. “May Allah blesses his soul & give strength to the bereaved family in bear this irreparable loss,” he was quoted as saying by the ISPR.

PML-N’s vice chairman Maryam Nawaz said she was deeply saddened by the former president’s passing. “He was a sincere man who served Pakistan with complete honesty,” she tweeted.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also tweeted: “My deepest condolences on the passing of former President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain. May Allah grant his family the strength to bear this great loss.”

PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan conveyed his condolences by praying for strength for Hussain’s family and friends to deal with the loss.

Sindh chief minister’s adviser Murtaza Wahab also shared sadness at Hussain’s demise, saying “he served his office with grace and dignity.”

Who was Mamoon Hussain?

He was a successful textile businessman from Karachi, he was born in 1940 in Agra and migrated with his parents to Pakistan in 1947. He was a graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. Hussain received his education up to Matric reception, before getting to attend college told Chaudhry Tariq and another PML-N leader, Nasiruddin Mehmood.

He furthered the shoe business of his family which was established on an enormous scale within then Bangladesh (now Bangladesh). Later, he also started exporting fruits. “He could also be considered one among the pioneers among fruit exporters,” Mehmood commented.

Hussain joined politics within the late 1960s following his close association with politician-cum-businessman Abdul Khaliq Allahwala. He was appointed the joint secretary of the then-Muslim League in the 1970s. He was considered an active member of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. When Nawaz Sharif came to power in 1990 for the first time, Hussain alongside several of his businessmen friends joined the PML-N and remained active party members. He was also a governor of Sindh from June to October 1999 when Nawaz’s government was overthrown by the then army chief, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

There was a time during Gen Musharraf’s era when Hussain held three posts in PML-N Sindh at an equivalent time because the party was under persecution, recalled Tariq. He also served as an adviser to the then-chief minister of Sindh Liaquat Jatoi. In 2002, Hussain contested the elections from Karachi’s NA-250 but remained unsuccessful.

He was elected as the President of Pakistan in 2013 when PMLN-N again came into power. Hussain resigned from his membership of the PML-N soon after the results of the election were announced in what was seen as a symbolic move to determine himself as a non-partisan president.

“After completing his tenure as president of Pakistan on Sept 9, 2018, he nearly abandoned politics and adopted a really low profile,” said Nasiruddin.