Ahmad Faraz, 78. Renowned Urdu poet and literary figure, he was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2004 in recognition of his literary achievements. He returned the award in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the government and its policies.

Anis Khursheed, 84. Popularly known as the father of the modern librarianship of Pakistan, was a former chairman of the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Karachi.

Basheer Farooq. A noted poet whose poetic compositions included the popular poem Taira Pakistan hai yeh maira Pakistan hay.

Zeshan Sahil, 47. A renowned poet, he published eight collections of poetry.

Syed Abul Khair Kashfi, 76. Eminent critic, research scholar and former chairman of Karachi University`s Urdu department. He won the Dawood Literary Award and the National Seerat Award.

Khatir Ghaznavi, 83. Prominent Urdu and Hindko poet and writer, and a recipient of the presidential award, he was also vice president of the NWFP chapter of the Progressive Writers` Movement.

Rafat Karim, 68. Pakistan`s leading authority on Shakespeare and president of the Shakespeare Association of Pakistan. He was considered one of the formidable champions of the English language as a medium of communication and instruction.

M.Yahya Effendi. A soldier and author, he wrote numerous pamphlets, books and research paper over and above being a regular contributor to the Defence Journal. His authoritative book, Punjab Cavalry, on the history of the armoured corps was recently published.

Sir Arthur C.Clarke, 90. British science fiction writer and futurist visionary best known for the novel adapted for the film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Nirmala Deshpande, 79. Gandhian peace activist, writer and Sanskrit scholar, she was
actively involved in peace efforts between India and Pakistan and led several delegations to Pakistan.

Alexandedr Solzhenitsyn, 89. Devoted his life to exposing the brutal Soviet Gulag. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970.

Mahmoud Darwish, 67. Palestinian poet whose poetry encapsulated the Palestinian cause. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.

Ralph Russell, 90. He was the head of the Urdu Department at London University for almost 32 years. The Urdu translation of his memoirs titled
Joinda-o-Yabinda was published only recently.

Abdul Latif Jalali, 81. Afghan writer, journalist, besides being a good poet and writer in his life served as head of radio and television of Afghanistan.

Michael Crichton, 66. American author of more than a dozen bestsellers, including Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, he was the author of numerous blockbusters, some of which sold over 100 million copies, and which were translated in 30 languages worldwide.
— Compiled by Syed Azhar Ali