Ex-speaker Gohar Ayub is no more

Former National Assembly speaker Gohar Ayub Khan passed away in Islamabad on Friday. He will be laid to rest in his ancestral Rehana village in Haripur district after the funeral prayers at 3pm on Saturday (today).

According to a spokesperson for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Gauhar Ayub Khan, father of the PTI Central Secretary General Omar Ayub, was under treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad for some time. PTI leaders and workers expressed their heartfelt condolences and sympathy with Omar Ayub.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif also condoled with Omar Ayub and other family members on the demise of Gohar Ayub.

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Late Gauhar Ayub Khan was born on January 5, 1937 in Rehana. His father Gen Ayub Khan served as the chief of army staff, chief martial law administrator and the President of Pakistan. Gohar Ayub was also served in the army but got early retirement as captain on allegations of misconduct.

Gohar Ayub was elected member of the National Assembly for five times. He was elected 14th Speaker of the National Assembly in 1990. He was made foreign minister in the Nawaz Sharif cabinet in 1997, but later moved to the Water and Power ministry.

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Gauhar Ayub quit the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in 1999 following the military takeover and joined the PML-Quaid. However, he could not participate in the 2002 elections because he did not have the graduation degree, which was a condition at that time.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar expressed deep grief and sorrow over his death and prayed to Allah Almighty to elevate the ranks of the deceased in paradise, and grant fortitude and courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss.

Paying tribute to the deceased, the prime minister said Gohar Ayub had a unique position in the politics of Pakistan. “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Gohar Ayub’s family at this time of grief,” PM Kakar added.