PESHAWAR: Senior Pashto folk poet Ghazi Sial has been suffering from chest complications at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, where he was admitted a week ago, his family members said on Sunday.

Sadeeq Zaman, elder son of the poet, told this scribe that he had spent on his father’s treatment the money of superannuation, which he got in 2016 from a government department.

Pashto literary circles on Sunday asked philanthropists, Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL), Islamabad, and KP culture directorate to make arrangements to provide free treatment to the Pashto poet on urgent basis. A number of poets, writers and fans visited LRH to enquire after Ghazi Sial.

In his choking voice, Ghazi Sial told Dawn: “I belong to a breed of bards who would never raise their hands to beg. The responsible and cultured officials should know for themselves who deserve what. I have always tried my best to serve my people through my works. My songs filled with romance speak volumes of my devotion for my community.”

Prof Aseer Mangal while leading a literary jirga showed concerns over the health of the octogenarian poet and asked the concerned officials to provide an adequate financial assistance to Ghazi Sial to ensure his speedy recovery.

“Unfortunately, we have recently lost noted Pashto poet, Umar Daraz Marwat, due to our lukewarm response. Mr Sial is not only a senior poet, but also an eminent fiction writer. His services are immense for Pashto films, poetry, fiction and even research,” he said.

Recipient of numerous awards, including President’s Pride of Performance Award, Ghazi Sial has composed hundreds of hit folk songs for Radio and TV besides writing scripts, story lines and dialogues for around 50 super-hit Pashto movies.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2019