ISLAMABAD/TEHRAN – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to travel to Iran with high-level delegation to participate in the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to official sources.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi are also likely to accompany the prime minister during the visit. If confirmed, the trip would mark one of Pakistan’s most significant diplomatic engagements with Tehran since Khamenei’s reported death.
Government officials further indicated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to attend the funeral prayer for the Iranian leader, underscoring Islamabad’s intention to pay official respects during the state mourning period.
Iranian authorities have, for first time, announced the complete timetable for Khamenei’s funeral and burial ceremonies. According to the official schedule, the ceremonies will begin on July 6 and conclude with his burial on July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad. The public farewell ceremony will be held over two days at Tehran’s Mosalla beginning July 6, followed by a funeral procession in the holy city of Qom on July 7.
Officials confirmed that the bodies of Dr. Mesbah-al-Hoda Bagheri, Seyyedeh Bushra Hosseini Khamenei, Zahra Haddad-Adel, and Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani will be honored alongside Khamenei during the funeral processions.
Adding regional dimension to the ceremonies, Iranian officials said that, at the request of Iraqi authorities and various religious groups, separate funeral processions will be organized on July 8 in the cities of Najaf and Karbala. Iraqi authorities are expected to announce the final arrangements for those events.
The official schedule concludes with Khamenei’s burial on July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, ending four days of state funeral ceremonies.
Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli military strike on Iran on February 28. More than four months after his reported death, Iranian authorities have now publicly confirmed the timeline for his final rites and burial.
PM Shehbaz grieved over Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination
