ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: Senior journalist and Editor Production and Coordination of daily The News Rawalpindi, Khalid Akhtar, died on Thursday after a brief illness. He was 70. Khalid Akhtar was admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on September 15 due to cardiac arrest. He remained there in coma for one week.

His funeral procession will be taken out from his residence House No.247, Street 18, Rawal Town, at 2pm on Friday. Later, his funeral prayers will offered at Malkanwala graveyard near Leprosy Hospital on Zafarul Haq Road, Rawalpindi, at 3pm.

He is survived by a wife, a son and three daughters.

Khalid Akhtar started his journalistic career in 1973 as a sub-editor and editorial writer in The New Times.

He also worked with daily The Muslim, Islamabad, as its executive editor from 1978 to 1998 and later became editor of daily Pakistan Observer in 1998 and served the newspaper for three years.

He joined The News, Rawalpindi, as Editor Production and Coordination in April 2001 and worked on this position till his death.