Karachi:
The former Foreign Secretary and experienced diplomatic Najmuddin to Shaikh died peacefully at home early Friday at Karachi, his family announced.
“It is with the deepest pain that we announced the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Najmuddin to Shaikh died peacefully at home early Friday at Karachi,” the family declared in a statement sent to Express PAkGazette.
Funeral prayers for Shaikh will be held on March 28, after ASR sentences at 5:15 pm in the phase cemetery VIII DHA, Karachi.
Shaikh, who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan from 1994 to 1997, was a great prestige diplomat. Originally from Sindh, he joined the external service of Pakistan in 1961 after graduating from the Fletcher Law Faculty and Diplomacy in 1962. During his 38-year career, he maintained key diplomatic assignments, including the roles of ambassador to Canada (1987–1989), West German (1989-1990), the United States (1990-1991) (1992). It was happened as Secretary of Foreign Affairs by Shamshad Ahmad.
Beyond his foreign service, he was the special envoy of Pakistan for Yemen, Sudan, Kenya and Bahrein in 2005. He also served as a member of the Board at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, and was a senior vice president of the Karachi Foreign Affairs Council.
Shaikh survives his wife for more than 50 years, Raana Shaikh, former managing director of the television of Pakistan and secretary of the Ministry of Culture. Leave two children, Nadir Shaikh, Financial Advisory Qatalyst Partners LLP, and Nermeen Shaikh, transmission news producer and weekly coanfrerion of Democracy Now! His daughter -in -law, Sobia Shaikh and two grandchildren, Isaad and Lyali Shaikh also survive.
His brothers include Waheeda Noorul Hasan, Sirajuddin Shaikh (formerly from Sui Southern Gas Company), Air Marshal (RETD) Riazuddin Shaikh, Dr. Ajazuddin Shaikh, Dr. Rafat Arain and Dr. Fareeduddin Shaikh.
Reflecting on his legacy, his niece Erum Shaikh, head of business desk at Express PAkGazette, described him as “a knowledge treasure and a distinguished diplomat that served Pakistan with an unwavering dedication”, and added that “not only were conversations with him only the exchanges of words, but the trips for history, culture and human understanding. It will lose a lot. ” “
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid tribute, stating: “As Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh contributed visionary leadership to the role, shaping foreign policy with strategic forecast and tutoring of generations of diplomats that followed their steps.”
Recognized for his diplomatic insight, he was remembered as “a firm defender of international cooperation, regional stability and human rights.”
The condolences arrived in colleagues, friends and officials. Sherry Rehman of the Popular Party of Pakistan wrote in X (previously Twitter), “afflicted by the death of former Foreign Secretary, Najmuddin Shaikh. He was a veteran diplomat who continued to serve Pakistan with the greatest integrity much after his retreat. He will be very surprised.”
The former UN permanent representative, Maleeha Lodhi, called “a professional being and good human being”, while the former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, described him as “an honorable and capable diplomat who served Pakistan in capitals and difficult circumstances.”
Khurram Dastagir of the Pakistan Muslim League lamented the loss of “an increasingly lower breed of diplomats deeply interested in the world and with the ability to analyze global events.”
Shaikh’s family has requested sentences in his memory, stating: “We ask everyone to offer Surah-E-Fatiha to relieve their passage to a quieter world.”
