Senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and well-known columnist Senator Irfan Siddiqui passed away in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Siddiqui had been unwell for the past two weeks and was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad due to breathing difficulties.

Owing to his illness, he was unable to participate in the voting process for the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

He served as the parliamentary leader of PML-N in the Senate and was regarded as a close aide of the party president, Nawaz Sharif.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who was elected to the Senate in March 2021, also served as the chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of Senator Irfan Siddiqui.

In a statement, he said, “The news of the death of Irfan Siddiqui deeply saddens me.”

“Pakistan has lost a sagacious thinker, teacher and principled intellectual,” he said, adding, “Irfan Siddiqui always made knowledge, tolerance, seriousness and logic the focus of his writing and personality.”

He was an important member of the PML-N and our close associate, he remarked.

“He was counted among the loyal companions of Mian Nawaz Sharif and the party,” he said, adding, “Irfan Siddiqui’s services to the party will always be remembered.”

His academic services and national insight will remain a beacon of light for future generations. He was a kind, gentle and extremely refined person,” he noted.

He said Irfan Siddiqui gave guidance on every occasion, based on positive thinking and academic integrity.

“His death is a great loss for me, for the academic world and for society. May Allah Almighty grant the deceased a high place in Paradise and give patience to the bereaved family,” he added.