Renowned Pakistani singer, Kaneez Raza Mehnaz, known as Mehnaz Begum, passed away during transit at the Bahrain International Airport (BIA) on Saturday. She was 55.
Family sources confirmed that she was travelling by Gulf Air, national carrier of Bahrain, enroute to London-Miami USA.
The Ambassador of Pakistan Jauhar Saleem confirmed the death of Mehnaz and said that embassy official took the possession of the body and sent to mortuary at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).
“We are expecting that the body will be repatriated by Gulf Air on Sunday to Pakistan by Gulf Air,” Ambassador said, adding that she was travelling alone.
Mehnaz was the daughter of popular sub-continental singer Kajjan Begum. She dominated the singing world from the late 70s to the early 90s.
She sang over 2,500 songs for radio, television and films in a variety of genres like ghazal, thumri, dadra, khayal and drupad.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf issued condolence messages paying rich tribute to the late singer.