What did AQ Khan say to the Sindh CM in his last letter?

National hero Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, a few days before his death, wrote a letter to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on October 4, thanking the CM for sending him a bouquet.

"Extremely grateful to you for your kind wishes and for the beautiful bouquet of flowers which I received today. Alhamdulillah, I am much better and recuperating to the satisfaction of the doctors,” Dr AQ Khan's letter read.

In his letter, Dr Khan expressed a feeling that the Prime Minister and chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab were "waiting to hear the good news" of his demise. "...the CM of my province, of my city, remembered me in this difficult period," he wrote, expressing that he was grateful.

Renowned nuclear scientist and national icon Dr AQ Khan, 85, passed away early Sunday morning after his health deteriorated.

He was given a state funeral at Faisal Mosque in Islamabad before being laid to rest at the H-8 graveyard. A large number of people were in attendance during the funeral prayers, despite the heavy rainfall.

Among those who attended the funeral were cabinet members, parliamentarians and the military leadership.

'I wanted to meet him personally'

Speaking about why he had sent the bouquet to Dr AQ Khan, CM Shah, in a press conference today, said he was shaken after hearing that the nuclear scientist was unwell — and that is why he had sent a bouquet to him.

The chief minister said Dr AQ Khan's letter to him had deeply affected him, but he was happy to know that the national hero was in good health. "I wanted to go and meet him personally in Islamabad, but sadly he is no more with us."

CM Shah noted that the nation could never repay the scientist for his services to the country, as he prayed for his forgiveness.