ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: Renowned intellectual Dr Aftab Ahmed died here on Thursday morning at the age of 81. He was suffering from chronic heart ailments. Dr Aftab leaves behind his wife, two daughters, many friends and scores of admirers to mourn his death.

A brilliant writer and critic who made his debut on Lahore’s literary scene shortly before independence, was born on October 22, 1923, in Ludhiana.

He was a great admirer of Ghalib and equally revered Shakespeare. A keen lover of literature, he seldom missed meetings of Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq, Progressive Writers’ Association and other literary and cultural organisations of Lahore.

When he was still an undergraduate, his critical essays on Ghalib’s poetry were published in leading literary magazines of Lahore and Dehli, like the Adabi Dunya and Saqi.

He did his masters in English literature in 1946 from Government College, Lahore.

He started his career as a teacher at the same college and later joined government service. However, he always maintained his love for literature and became an important figure of Lahore’s literary circle.

He was closely associated with literary giants like Faiz, N.M. Rashid, Ghulam Abbas, Taseer, Sufi Tabassum and Khwaja Manzoor Hussain.

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, a leading political figure and journalist of the last century and Dr Hameed A. Khan, an intellectual of great repute, were closely related to Dr Ahmed from the paternal side.

In the early 1950s, Dr Ahmed visited London where he came in contact with great English writers and poets like T.S Eliot, E.M. Foster and F.R. Leavis. His association with the giants of literary world inculcated in him the qualities of an accomplished critic. He was regular contributor to Dawn’s literary sections.

His Namaz-i-Janaza was offered at the Sector H-8 graveyard where he was laid to rest in the evening. A large number of senior government officials, retired bureaucrats and intellectuals, including former foreign minister Sahibzada Yakoob Khan, former PTV chairman Aslam Azhar, former secretaries Ijlal Haider Zaidi and Saeed Qureshi attended the funeral.

His soyem will be held on Saturday after Asr prayers at his residence at Sector F-18/3.