Poetess Parveen Shakir dies in a road accident

December 26, 1994

On this day, Parveen Shakir, and Urdu poet, teacher and a civil servant, was killed in a car accident while on her way to work in Islamabad.

Parveen started writing at a young age, penning both prose and poetry, and contributing columns in Urdu newspapers, and a few articles in English dailies. She published her first volume of poetry, Khushbu to great acclaim in 1976. She subsequently published other volumes of poetry — all well-received — Sad-barg, Khud Kalami and Inkar in 1990, and Kaf-e-Aina, besides a collection of her newspaper columns, titled Gosha-e-Chashm. She was awarded one of Pakistan’s highest honours, the Pride of Performance, for her outstanding contribution to literature. 

Shakir held two masters degrees, one in English Literature and one in Linguistics. She also held a PhD and another master’s degree in Bank Administration.

She was a teacher for nine years before she joined the Civil Service and worked in the Customs Department. In 1986 she was appointed the second secretary, CBR in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 25th, 2015