KARACHI: Noted poet Arif Shafique passed away on Saturday after a protracted illness. He was 63.

His funeral prayers were offered at Al-Falah Masjid in F C. Area and he was buried at a local graveyard. He is survived by a widow, two daughters and two sons.

A large number of people, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Faisal Subzwari, attended the funeral.

Mr Shafique was born to a middle-class family on Oct 31, 1956 in Karachi’s Sharifabad neighbourhood in Federal Capital Area. He received education there and worked and edited various Urdu newspapers.

He attained fame for his poetry that plainly discussed and criticised the class divide in the country. He was a prolific poet and writer and published nine books of poetry — Andhi sochain goongay log, Seep key deep, Jab zameen per koii diwar na thi, Ehtejaj, Sarphiri hawa, Main hawaon ka rukh badal doonga, Mera shahr jal raha hai, Yaqeen and Meri dharti meray log.

He was ranked among those poets and writers whose key subject was to discuss issues that affect the people of cities with particular reference to Karachi.

The couplet that earned for him greater prominence is:

Gharib-i-shahr to faaqe se mar gaya Arif Ameer-i-shahr ne heeray se khud kushi kar li Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the demise of the noted poet and expressed his condolence with his family.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui also expressed his condolence with the family.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2019