KARACHI: Dawn regrets to announce the death of His Excellency Lt-Col Sahibzada Mohammad Khurshid, the Governor of the North West Frontier Province, who died of heart failure at Peshawar at 9-25 a.m. on Saturday [Jan 14]. The sad news was broken [here] by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, who interrupted ... Parliament ... to announce the `tragic death` of one of the `most loyal and devoted servants of Pakistan.` [He] was visibly moved... .

The news came as a rude shock. The President said: `We are stunned by the shocking news. It is a great calamity.` The leader of the Opposition `wholeheartedly associated` himself in the mourning and the House adjourned as a mark of respect without transacting any business. A black-bordered Gazette Extraordinary issued on Saturday announced the `deep regret` of the Government of Pakistan... . `In Col Khurshid`s death Pakistan has lost one of its most distinguished officers,` the Gazette stated.

The Government have ordered 14-day official mourning from Jan 14 to Jan 27. All the Government Offices were closed ... after the death was announced and flags were pulled down ... [to] fly at half-mast till Jan 16. Staff correspondent