Ashfaq Ahmed – The Best Afsana Writers of Pakistan

December 18th, 2012 |

Author: Farrukh Saeed

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Ashfaq Ahmed, without any doubt can be labelled as among the best and finest Afsana writers of Pakistan. He stands along with Qurratulain Hyder, Prem Chand, Saadat hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Meerza Adeeb and krishan Chander. Born in 1925 in the city Firozpur, in undivided Punjab, he was a remarkable playwright, writer, intellectual, broadcaster and more prominently a great spiritualist. His famous piece of work, his famous short story "Gaddariya" brought him among internationally recognized writers.

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He had obtained a degree of Masters in Urdu Literature from Government College of Lahore, where he also chose his wife, who is also a very famous novelist of Urdu language. She was his classmate there. Interestingly, his first job was as an anchor of radio Azad Azad Kashmir which operated on a truck and roamed in different parts of Kashmir. After that he taught at Dayal Singh College, Lahore for two years. He also served in Radio Rome as an Urdu newscaster. He has the honor of earning many diplomas in European languages like Italian and French. He also went to New York University to get a diploma in radio broadcasting.

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After returning to Pakistan from Europe the thing which added to his fame was his radio program named "Talqeen Shah". He was appointed editor of famous Urdu weekly, Lail o Nihar. He replaced famous poet Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum. Actually the program "Talqeen Shah" made him more famous in the people of villages of Pakistan. He was also appointed director of the Urdu Science Board where he remained director for 29 years. He worked as an advisor in the Education Ministery of General Zial ul Haq's government.

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His famous TV plays are Aik Muhabbat Sau Afsanay, Uchhay Burj Lahore day, Lekin, Tota Kahani, Man Chalay ka Saquda, Hairat kadah etc. He had a good sense of humor. He always tried to bring changes in society through his writings. In his last part of life he was closely associated with Sufism and was inspired from Qudrat Ullah Shahab and Mumtaz Mufti for this very reason. In his last part of life he appeared in two TV programs namely Baithhakh and Zaviya where he answered the questions of youth in a mystic way.

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Ashfaq Ahmed was awarded with the Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiyaz awards. He fell ill due to Pancreatic Cancer and died on 7 September 2004. His age was 79 at that time. He will be remembered for his sincere and notable services for ever.