Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan passed away due to illness at a private hospital in Peshawar on Saturday. He was 89, reported 24NewsHd TV channel.

Azam Khan had been ill  and had a severe stomach infection and was admitted to Rehmand Medical Institue (RMI) in Peshawar Friday night. He was under treatment when he breathed his last due to a heart attack.

According to the spokesperson of the Rehman Medical Institute, Azam Khan was shifted to the private hospital on Friday night when his health deteriorated.

Hospital spokesman Shabbir Shah said Azam Khan was suffering from multiple diseases and was in a critical condition. He was kept in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). Due to his illness, he had limited his movement for the past few days.

According to the family sources, the chief minister died at 10:25am on Saturday.

In an exclusive talk with 24News TV channel, Dr Gulzar of Rehman Medical Institute Peshawar said that caretaker CM Azam Khan had been suffering from stomach disease for the past three to four days. He said that all tests were run on Azam Khan, even his CT Scan was also conducted.

“CM Azam Khan was diagnosed with a hernia. His condition improved last evening, but it worsened late at night,” the doctor revealed.

Dr Gulzar said that the hospital staff made utmost efforts to save Azam Khan but they failed.

Azam Khan’s Namaz-i-Janaza will be offered at his hometown of Prang in Charsadda district at 3:30 pm today.

KP govt announces three-day mourning

 

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced three days of official mourning over the sudden death of Caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Azam Khan.

The government announced official mourning from November 11–13 in KP, where the national flag would be hoisted half mast, according to an official statement here.

However, all government offices would remain open on November 13.

Former bureaucrat Mohammad Azam Khan had taken oath as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister on January 21, 2023, after KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali formally appointed Khan as the caretaker chief minister of the province in the interim set-up.

A Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, London, Azam Khan had earlier served as minister for interior, capital administration and development in the caretaker cabinet of prime minister Nasir-ul-Mulk in 2018.

He also remained the provincial minister for finance, planning and development in the KP caretaker cabinet of CM Shamsul Mulk from October 2007 to April 2008 and served on key positions in the federal and provincial governments.

Before these stints, he had served as chief secretary from September 1990 till July 1993. He also remained the Pakistan Tobacco Board chairman.

He was the real brother of former Inspector General Police, ex-caretaker provincial minister Abbas Khan, cousin of Chairman Qaumi Watan Party Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.

 

Reporter Amir Shehzad