MINGORA: Renowned comedian Fazl Rehman alias Selai died of cardiac arrest here on Thursday. He was in his late fifties.

The sudden death of the popular artist sent a wave of grief across Swat and a large number of people gathered at his residence in Kanju village soon after hearing the sad news.

Fazl Rehman suffered heart attack on Thursday morning. He was rushed to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Kanju.

The deceased comedian was popular among people for his natural style. He often used to play the role of an elderly woman, a mother-in-law, in TV dramas, stage show and films. He played different roles in about 250 productions including stage shows, TV dramas and DVD films.

Nasar Sheen, a member of Swat Artists Association, said that Selai started his career from stage back in seventies. His cutting satire and powerful role made him famous in the region, he added.

“He played the role of Selai in a drama produced by my father M Ghani Nasar in seventies and since then people started calling him Selai,” Mr Sheen told Dawn. He added that his sudden death was an irreparable loss to the artists community in Swat.

He said that Selai always made people laugh even in real life. “He was a man, who took away grief and brought smile on faces of people,” said Mr Sheen.

Mehr Ali Shah, an editor of tele-films, said that Selai would visit his studio frequently to chat with him. “He would come to us and brought laughter and went back taking all tensions from us. He was really a good man and caring person. His sudden demise left us in a shock,” he added.

ADMISSION: A woman has accused the administration of University of Swat of violating the age relaxation rules issued by Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Rukhsana Ahmad, 34, told journalists here on Thursday that she couldn’t complete her studies owing to militancy in Swat. She said that she wanted to get admission in University of Swat in the current session but the administration refused to admit her.

“I wanted to get admission in BS psychology but the university refused to admit me, saying I was overage,” said Ms Ahmed. She said that HEC issued a letter on June 18, 2014, allowing overage people to study at the university but the administration rejected it.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016