ISLAMABAD: Former chief minister Balochistan Jam Mohammad Yousuf passed away early Sunday due to cardiac arrest at the age of 59 in Islamabad, DawnNews reported.

He had served as chief minister of Balochistan province between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

The former CM was suffering from diabetes and blood pressure diseases and was shifted to PIMS hospital due to a heart attack. However, he succumbed to his disease before getting medical attention.

Yousuf was born in 1954 and belonged to the famous Jam family of Lasbela. He also served as federal minister for water and power, railways and senior minister of Balochistan.

Jam Yousuf was the provincial president of the PML-Q since 2002 and was the federal minister for privatisation after getting elected as a MNA in 2008 elections from Lasbela, Balochistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minster Raja Pervez Ashraf and MQM chief Altaf Hussain among other political leaders of the country have lamented the demise of the former CM.

The body of the deceased was shifted from Karachi to Islamabad via a c-130 plane from where it was taken via a helicopter to his native hometown of Lasbela for burial.