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Shehbaz Sharif met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim in Doha and offered condolences on the former emir's death. The visit underscored Pakistan's solidarity with Qatar and the close bilateral ties between the two countries.
Islamabad,UPDATED: Jul 13, 2026 21:58 IST
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha and offered condolences on the death of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The visit came a day after Qatar announced the death of the 74-year-old former ruler, who led the country from 1995 to 2013.
Sharif travelled to Qatar on a day-long visit and was accompanied by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Atta Ullah Tarar and other senior officials. In Doha, the Pakistani delegation called on Sheikh Tamim and conveyed condolences on what the Prime Minister's Office described as the sad demise of the Father Emir.
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said Sharif paid tribute to the late Father Emir's "visionary leadership, statesmanship, and enduring contributions to Qatar's remarkable transformation as well as to regional peace, stability, and development". It said Sharif also recalled with deep appreciation the late emir's visits to Pakistan over the years.
Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan's solidarity with the leadership and people of Qatar during what he described as a period of profound grief. Sheikh Tamim thanked the Pakistani delegation for travelling to Doha to personally offer condolences, calling it "a reflection of the deep-rooted fraternal bonds between the two brotherly countries and peoples".
The Sharif family is believed to have close ties with Qatar's ruling royal family. When Nawaz Sharif was facing a corruption case in Pakistan's Supreme Court in 2016-2017, his family submitted letters from former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani in his defence. However, the Supreme Court did not accept the letters as valid proof of a money trail, and Nawaz Sharif was dismissed as prime minister and later convicted of corruption.
The visit to Doha centred on Pakistan's condolences over the death of Qatar's former emir, with Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani delegation meeting Sheikh Tamim and reaffirming ties between the two countries.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 13, 2026 21:58 IST
