Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif will attend the funeral prayer of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a tragic plane crash last week.
According to the statement issued by the Foreign Office of Pakistan, PM Shehbaz Sharif would attend the funeral in Tehran. Leaders from around the world, including Muslim-majority countries are expected to arrive in Iran.
Pakistani government has expressed condolence and announced a day of mourning in the country. “We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of President Raisi and extend our deepest condolences to the people and government of Iran,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Pakistan will observe a day of mourning and the flag will fly at half mast as a mark of respect for President Raisi and his companions and in solidarity with Brotherly Iran,” PM Shehbaz said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“I along with the government and people of Pakistan extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the Iranian nation on this terrible loss,” the premier said while praying for the martyred souls.
Read more: World leaders react to sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
“The great Iranian nation will overcome this tragedy with customary courage,” the prime minister noted.
Intensive search and rescue operations began soon after the crash. Initial reports suggest bad weather is the reason for the crash. Other high officials who boarded the tragic plane included Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to East Azerbaijan, according to state media.
President Ebrahim was returning from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan, where he and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had inaugurated a cooperative dam project. The news first circulated on social media, which was later picked up by the local media and then the international media.