KARACHI: The writer of popular national songs Jeevay jeevay Pakistan and Ay watan ke sajeeley jawano, Jamiluddin Aali died of heart failure here on Monday. He was 89. He is survived by three sons and two daughters.

Aaliji, as he was fondly known, was born on Jan 20, 1926 in Delhi. His ancestral city was Loharu in the Indian state of Haryana. His grandfather Nawab Alauddin Ahmed Khan Ala’i was one of the prominent pupils of the legendary Urdu poet Ghalib. Aali’s father Ameeruddin Ahmed Khan was a Persian language poet. According to his son, actor Raju Jamil, it was on Aug 13, 1947 that Aaliji came to Karachi by a train which halted at Drigh Road. In the initial phase of his life in Karachi, he lived in Jacob Lines.

Aaliji’s namaz-i-janaza will be held at Masjid-i-Tooba, Defence Phase II, at 4pm. He will be laid to rest in the Bizerta Lines Graveyard next to Gora Qabristan.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015