ISLAMABAD; Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and prominent columnist, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, passed away on Tuesday in Islamabad.
Senator Siddiqui had been battling health issues for the past two weeks and was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad for respiratory complications. Due to his illness, he could not participate in the Senate voting on the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
A respected leader, Siddiqui served as the parliamentary leader of PML-N in the Senate and was considered a close aide of party president Nawaz Sharif. Elected to the Senate in March 2021, he also chaired the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, contributing significantly to legislative and policy discussions.
PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) on Monday due to respiratory complications, his family confirmed. The senator has been receiving treatment at a private hospital in Islamabad for the past few days.
The development comes as the Senate is scheduled to convene today to discuss and vote on the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill. Siddiqui, a prominent PML-N leader, was expected to participate in the vote but may now miss the session.
Earlier, a joint committee comprising members from the Senate and National Assembly’s standing committees on law and justice approved the complete draft of the proposed 27th amendment. The session was chaired by Senator Farooq H. Naek and MNA Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk.
According to the agenda, Senator Naek will present the standing committee’s report on the amendment, after which the law minister will move the bill for approval. However, opposition parties, including PTI, JUI-F, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and Majlis-e-Wahdatul-Muslimeen (MWM), boycotted the session, with their members absent from the meeting.
The joint parliamentary committee had granted clause-by-clause approval to 49 proposed amendments a day earlier. The finalized draft, already approved by the federal cabinet, is set to be presented in the Upper House at 11 am.
