Pakistan to mark funeral of Prince Karim Aga Khan as day of mourning

• PM Shehbaz declares day of mourning on Saturday.
• He terms late Prince Karim Aga Khan true friend of Pakistan.
• PM expresses deepest condolences on passing of Aga Khan IV.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will observe a national day of mourning on Saturday (February 8) on the occasion of Prince Karim Aga Khan's funeral.

“Expressing profound grief on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan on the sad demise of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Prime Minister has declared a day of national mourning in Pakistan on Saturday, the 8th of February, 2025, on the occasion of the funeral of His High Highness," said a notification issued by the issued by the Cabinet Division.

The national flag will fly at half-mast throughout the country on the day, added the notification.

The funeral of Aga Khan IV will take place in Lisbon on Saturday, a representative of the Ismaili community said.

The private funeral will be conducted at the community centre in central Lisbon, in front of several hundred guests.

"This is a private event, not a big public event... It will be short and dignified," Naguib Kheraj, a senior adviser to the Ismaili community, told a press conference on Thursday.

Subsequently, the late prince will be buried in Egypt on Sunday, according to the Ismaili Imamat.

After a funeral ceremony at the Ismaili Centre in the Portuguese capital on Saturday - to be attended by leaders of the community, Portuguese government members and foreign dignitaries - Aga Khan IV will be laid to rest at a private burial ceremony in Aswan, Egypt on Sunday, it said in a statement on Thursday.

'True friend of Pakistan'

Taking to X, PM Shehbaz termed the Aga Khan a “true friend of Pakistan”, adding that he illuminated many lives with his visionary leadership and his contributions to global development, education, health and humanitarian efforts will always be remembered.

The premier further said that he spoke to Prince Rahim Aga Khan, Karim's successor, and expressed his deepest condolences on the passing of the Aga Khan IV.

Earlier, the GB government declared three days of mourning following the passing of the Aga Khan. 

The Aga Khan, known for his triumphs in horse racing, dazzling wealth and development work around the world, died in Lisbon at the age of 88, according to the Aga Khan Development Network on social media.

The 49th hereditary imam or spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismailis, his name also became synonymous with success as a racehorse owner, with the thoroughbred Shergar among his most famous.

Prince Shah Karim Al Husseini was born on December 13, 1936 in Geneva and spent his early childhood in Nairobi, Kenya.

He later returned to Switzerland, attending the exclusive Le Rosey School before going to the United States to study Islamic history at Harvard.

When his grandfather Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan died in 1957, he became the imam of the Ismailis, at the age of 20.

His grandfather chose Karim as his successor over his son - Karim's father Prince Aly Khan.

The Aga Khan set up the Aga Khan Development Network in 1967. The group of international development agencies employs 80,000 people helping to build schools and hospitals and providing electricity for millions of people in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia.

"Few persons bridge so many divides — between the spiritual and the material; East and West; Muslim and Christian — as gracefully as he does," Vanity Fair wrote in its 2013 article.

— With additional input from Reuters and AFP