Veteran journalist Nadir Shah Adil passes away

Veteran journalist Nadir Shah Adil passed away in Karachi on Saturday. He had been bedridden for some time due to illnesses.

His funeral prayers were held in Sher Shah after Isha. Former Karachi Union of Journalists president Hassan Abbas, sports reporter Zubair Nazeer Khan and various prominent personalities of Lyari attended the prayers along with friends and relatives.

Adil was born to a literary family of Lyari. His mother Banul Dashtiari is considered the first female poet of Balochi language who had a Diwan. He was brought up by his mother and stepfather Asrar Arfi, a journalist with roots in the Sufi tradition.

In his journalistic career, he worked for a large number of prestigious Urdu dailies, including Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt, Hurriyat, Musawat and Mashriq. He also worked for magazines such as Akhbar-e-Jehan and cricket magazine Akhbar-e-Watan published by famed Urdu cricket commentator Muneer Hussain whom he considered his mentor.

He ended his journalistic career with Daily Express where he served as the op-ed incharge for more than a decade. He chose to retire owing to illness.

Adil shunned publicity and fame and was known for his humble disposition. Owing to a series of personal tragedies, he had turned recluse and was rarely seen at public events. During the prime days of the Lyari gang war, he was among those who were targeted by gangsters.

The gang led by Shiraz Comrade attacked his house and took away his son who was barely rescued alive from their torture cell. Disheartened by the incident, the journalist left Lyari where he had spent his all life and participated in various social works for spreading education and stopping spread of narcotics.

He was also interested in arts and had vast knowledge of classic Hollywood films. He maintained correspondence with Charlton Heston who mailed him his picture from him personal album from the set of El Cid.

The late journalist also acted in the first Balochi film of the country produced by actor Anwar Iqbal who was also the lead actor in the film. However, the conservative circles began opposing the film while it was being made. He recalled that when the news of a somewhat bold scene in the film came out, the opposition became more intense and a slogan ‘Balochi Film Chalay Gi To Jalay Gi’ was raised, due to which the film could not make to cinemas.