ISLAMABAD, JUL 3: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed from Islamabad on Friday for a one-day visit to Iran to attend the funeral of the country’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The prime minister is leading a high-level delegation comprising National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, and others.

Khamenei was martyred on February 28 this year, the first day of Israeli and US strikes on Iran. His funeral began in Tehran on Friday, with burial scheduled for July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad, according to Iranian state media.

During his visit to Tehran, Shehbaz will participate in the funeral rites of Ali Khamenei, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“On behalf of the Pakistani people and government, the Prime Minister will express heartfelt condolences to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved families and reaffirm Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the brotherly Iranian nation in this hour of grief,” it added.

Following the funeral ceremony, the prime minister will travel to Istanbul for a bilateral visit to Turkiye.