Former NA speaker Gohar Ayub passes away

ISLAMABAD: Former speaker of the National Assembly Gohar Ayub Khan, the father of PTI’s Central Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan, passed away on Friday.

Gohar Ayub’s funeral prayer will be offered in his ancestral village, Rehana, Haripur on Sunday afternoon.

PTI’s leadership expressed heartfelt condolences and solidarity with Omar Ayub Khan and the bereaved family.

In a statement, the PTI central media department said: “The services of the respected Gohar Ayub Khan for the nation are acknowledged with deep respect.”

It said: “May Gohar Ayub Khan rest in peace and his soul find high ranks in heaven. It offered deep condolence to the entire family, including Omar Ayub Khan.

Gohar Ayub had been undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Islamabad for some time.

Gohar Ayub Khan was a prominent Pakistani politician, businessman, and retired army officer. He was the son of Muhammad Ayub Khan, the second president of Pakistan and the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army. He was born in Rehana, a village in Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on 15 January 1937. He belonged to the Tareen tribe of ethnic Pashtuns and was fluent in Hindko and Pashto languages.

Gohar Ayub Khan received his education from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 1959.

He served as his father’s aide-de-camp and accompanied him on several foreign trips. He resigned from the army in 1962 with the rank of captain and established a business conglomerate. He entered politics in 1974 and contested the 1977 general election through the Independence Movement platform. He later joined the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IJI) in 1988 and became the fourteenth speaker of the National Assembly after the 1990 general election. He held this position until 1993.

In 1997, he was elected to the National Assembly again and was appointed as the 20th minister of Foreign Affairs by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He later shifted to the energy department and served as Minister for Water and Power from 1998 to 1999. His term ended abruptly after the military coup by General Pervez Musharraf on 12 October 1999. He subsequently retired from national politics.

Gohar Ayub Khan was married to Zeb Gohar Ayub, who was also a member of the National Assembly. They had two children, including Omar Ayub Khan, who is a former minister of state for finance.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday expressed deep sorrow and grief over demise of former Gohar Ayub Khan, and offered his heartfelt condolences to the family members. He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.

He also paid tribute to the services of the deceased for the country in the field of politics.

Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar conveyed profound sadness and grief over the death of Gohar Ayub. He offered heartfelt prayers for the departed soul and extended sincere sympathies to the bereaved family.