ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) senior leader and former Interior Minister Rehman Malik passed away in Islamabad on Wednesday at the age of 70.

The PPP Senator had been hospitalized in Islamabad for last few weeks as he had developed COVID-19 related complications and his lungs had been severely affected, his spokesperson, Riaz Ahmad Turi, confirmed. He is survived by his widow and two sons.

Rehman Malik, who had received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Karachi, served as the interior minister of the country from 2008 to 2013. In recognition of his services, the government of Pakistan had awarded him with one of the highest civilian awards in the country- Sitara-e-Shujat (the Star of Bravery).

He also received one of the most prestigious civil decorations- the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (the Order of Excellence)- from the state. He was one of the closest aides of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of PPP leader and former Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Commiserating with the bereaved family, they prayed for the departed soul. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain also expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Rehman Malik.