Legendary comedian Umar Sharif suffered a heart attack in August and according to his close friend, Pervaiz Kaifi, he had gone through two heart bypasses. His health had become a national concern after he made a video asking prime minister Imran Khan to help him secure a visa to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Both the federal government and the Sindh government assured Mr. Sharif that they would help him and authorized Rs40 million for his treatment.
On 28 September Umar Sharif boarded an air ambulance destined for a hospital in the US. His condition, unfortunately, worsened during the flight and he had to be admitted to a hospital in Germany.
His death was confirmed to Dawn.com by Arts Council of Pakistan’s president Ahmed Shah who had spoken to his family.The news was also confirmed by Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany, Dr. Mohammad Faisal on Twitter.
With deep sorrow it is announced that Mr. Umer Sharif has passed away. In #Germany. Our deepest condolences to hie family and friends. Our CG is present at the hospital to assist the family in every way.
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) October 2, 2021
In 2006, the “Umer Sharif Welfare Trust” was formed with the stated goal of creating a state of the art health center that provides services free of cost.
Mr.Sharif has received National awards for Best Director and Best Actor in 1992 for Mr. 420. He has received ten Nigar Awards. Sharif is the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year. He received three Graduate Awards. Sharif is also a recipient of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
He was given the title “King of Comedy”, and is considered one of the greatest comedians of the Indian subcontinent. Popular Indian comedians like Johnny Lever and Raju Srivastav hailed him as “The God Of Asian Comedy”.