KARACHI: Distinguished journalist and columnist Nusrat Nasrullah passed away here on Friday. He was 72.

Mr Nasrullah was born to a Punjabi mother and Madrasi father. From the mother’s side he was related to the famous Kureishi family.

Renowned Dawn columnist and cricket commentator Omar Kureishi was his maternal uncle, and the celebrated London-based English novelist, Hanif Kureishi, is his cousin.

Mr Nasrullah did his master’s in English literature from the University of Karachi. After passing out from the university, he joined journalism and worked for The Leader as a reporter. He wrote on social and cultural issues. From there he switched to Morning News in the 1980s and wrote prolifically for the paper.

Later, he changed careers and went into public relations and worked for Pakistan Petroleum for a long time. But even then, the journalist in him remained alive and he wrote columns for magazine and newspapers.

In the early 2000s, his column on social themes that appeared in Dawn’s Metro pages was widely read.

A few years back, Mr Nasrullah’s wife died. It left him lonely and dejected. His health started to deteriorate.

He was a great conversationalist, and loved to engage in discussions on art, culture and society. It was his conscious decision not to write on politics.

Mr Nasrullah was also one of those rare breed of journalists who encouraged their younger colleagues.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2019