KARACHI, FEB 16  –  Naeemul Haque, one of the senior-most members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and a close aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan, passed away at the age of 70 in Karachi on Saturday.

Haque, who was also the special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on political affairs, had been suffering from blood cancer since 2018.

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry was the first to break the news of Haque’s demise on Twitter. Family sources said Haque was under treatment at a Karachi hospital.

Prime Minister Imran expressed deep grief over Haque’s passing. “[I] am devastated by one of my oldest friend Naeem’s passing. He was one of the 10 founding members of PTI and by far the most loyal,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle. “In 23 years of PTI’s trials and tribulations, he stood by me. He was always there for support whenever we were at our lowest ebb,” he said.

The prime minister said he saw Haque battling with cancer with courage and optimism over the last two years. “Till the very end he was involved in the party affairs and attended cabinet meetings as long as he was able. His passing has left an irreplaceable void,” he said in another tweet.