KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party stalwart, playwright and seasoned politician Senator Taj Haider passed away on Tuesday after protracted illness, party and family sources said. He was 83.

His funeral prayers will be held on Wednesday (today) at 1:30pm at Masjid o Imambargah Yasrab, Phase IV, Defence Housing Authority.

“My husband and PPP general secretary Taj Haider has passed away. Prayers are requested,” his wife Naheed Wasi stated in a social media post.

PPP leaders said that he was suffering from cancer and admitted to a private hospital a few days ago where he breathed his last on Tuesday evening.

Born in Rajasthan in 1942, Haider belonged to an illustrious family of academics and scholars. He was son of Prof Karrar Hussain, a known religious scholar and former vice chancellor of the University of Balochistan.

He was among the founding members of the PPP. After graduating from the University of Karachi in mathematics, he earned his master’s in the same subject from the KU and opted for teaching mathematics at one of the colleges of the city before moving to Karachi University as its faculty member.

He had served as a PPP senator from March 2012 to 2018 and was elected again for the upper house of the parliament in March 2021. He was the chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges.

Haider was known for his grasp of constitutional matters, electoral rules and water distribution accords.

He had penned several plays for the Pakistan Television in late 1970s and 1980s. He was a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz.

Condolence messages poured in over his death in which his colleagues and political leaders paid rich tribute to his struggle and services for the country.

“President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of Taj Haider,” said a statement.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recalled his political, social, and literary contributions calling him “symbol of awareness and wisdom in Pakistani politics”.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025