End of an era

Ishtiaq Ahmed, one of Pakistan’s most profound writers, recently passed away in Karachi. He was an inspiration to two generations of children with his book series on Inspector Jamshed during the 1980s and 1990s. Despite being a famous author, he was a kind-hearted man who met everybody with great humility. After attending the book fair at Expo Centre in Karachi, he passed away at the Karachi airport departure lounge.
In his autobiography ‘Meri Kahani’ published in 2015, he narrated how tough his life was and how he struggled to surface as a writer. Even with these difficulties, he managed to infuse reading habits in children. A night before his death, he signed his books at the book fair with a quote by Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, “Life without devotion is disgraceful”. May his soul rest in peace.
Iftikhar Mirza
Islamabad