KARACHI, Sept 27: A literary organization and two universities expressed sorrow over the death of Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan. The chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, Iftikhar Arif, said Dr Khan’s death had closed a door on research work in the fields of religion and literature.

He recalled that Dr Khan had done monumental work on Urdu and Persian literature. According to Mr Arif, Dr Khan was a paragon of piety and intelligence.

A condolence meeting was held at the office of the Pakistan Academy of Letters’ Resident Director, Agha Noor Mohammad Pathan. Tributes were paid to the works of Dr Khan.

A press release issued by the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology quotes Dr Aslam Farrukhi, head of the Department of Composition and Translation, as saying that Dr Khan taught him from 1950 to Sept 20, 2005.

Speaking at a condolence meeting, he paid tributes to the pedagogical skills of Dr Khan.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Dr Iqbal Mohsin, recalled that Dr Khan had remained associated with the Urdu College for a long time heading its Urdu department from 1950-56.

The VC of the University of Karachi, Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza, said Urdu literature had received a bitter blow by the death of Dr Khan.