LAHORE: A reference was held in the memory of late veteran journalist, poet and playwright Munoo Bhai at the Lahore Press Club on Friday.

The reference was organised by the club whose President Azam Chaudhry and the governing body members were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Allama Siddique Azhar said he knew Munoo Bhai for 50 years, who always wrote about problems of the oppressed. His poetry depicted the dreams of girls from villages, which could be called magical realism.

Altaf Qureshi said he knew Munoo Bhai since 1963 when he joined the field of journalism. At that time, Munoo Bhai worked with Tameer newspaper in Rawalpindi. When Daily Musawat was launched, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto recommended Munoo Bhai’s name as the chief editor but the journalist said he would only write columns, Qureshi added.

Isar Rana called Munoo Bhai the Faiz Ahmed Faiz of columnists.

Actor Hamid Rana and actress Sheeba Hassan said whatever they were today and the popularity they had gained was all due to Munoo Bhai, who was their mentor. Dr Khalid Javed said Munoo Bhai had dedicated his life to struggling for the benefit of society and the common people.

Yasin Khan from Sundas Foundation said with the demise of Munoo Bhai, 6,000 children of their foundation had been orphaned. The foundation would soon set up a hospital in his name.

Farooq Tariq said Munoo Bhai was a source of inspiration when it came to serving humanity through his writings. He wrote for the magazine Jido Johad for 10 years highlighting the rights of labourers.

Veteran actor Khalid Abbas Dar recalled his close association with Munoo Bhai whose first serial for TV was Jazeera and last Sona Chandi. He introduced a number of actors, including Rehana Siddique and Sheeba Hassan.

Ameerul Azeem from Jamaat-i-Islami said the late writer was a non-controversial person who was loved by everyone. He had a balanced personality that no one had a complaint against.

Sabir Shah held Munoo Bhai in high esteem and said he had a huge contribution as a poet and a columnist.

Veteran journalist and activist Imtiaz Alam said Munoo Bhai wrote the best obituaries. He was a kind person, focused socialist, who wrote extremely good plays and columns on the woes of common man.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2018