LAHORE, 8 September 2004 — Renowned writer, intellectual and broadcaster Ashfaq Ahmed died in Lahore yesterday at the age of 80, his family said.
One of the country’s top literary figures and the winner of several national awards, Ahmed, who had been suffering from gall bladder cancer, died on way to the hospital.
He leaves behind three sons and wife Bano Qudsia, also a popular Urdu language novelist. Born in the town of Muksar in Indian Punjab’s Ferozepur district, Ahmed migrated to Pakistan after the sub-continent was partitioned in 1947 and settled in Lahore. The short-story writer’s most famous work was “Gaddarya” (Shepherd).
President Pervez Musharraf, in his condolence message, said “the literary world had indeed lost one of its distinguished personalities.” Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Ashfaq Ahmed, who had authored some 20 books, was “a great social reformer of his age and a torch bearer in highlighting the social issues.”
