Distinguished poet and columnist Riazur Rehman Saghar passed away in Lahore on June 1. He was 72. The poet had been under treatment for cancer.

Saghar penned many a song for Pakistani films. Some of the films that he worked as a lyricist in were Sargam, Inteha, Ghoonghat, Chief Saab, Samjhota Express and Ishq Khuda. Sargam, starring Adnan Sami Khan and Zeba Bakhtiar, was the film which proved a milestone in his career as a lyricist. The lilting romantic songs sung by Adnan Sami and Asha Bhonsle are to date some of the best written for Pakistani films.

Apart from that, Saghar sahib wrote a decent number of songs for Pakistani pop stars, such as Hadiqa Kayani’s Dopatta. He also had a major role to play in the famous children’s show Aangan Aangan Taaray.