KARACHI: Mirza Ismail, a former staff member of Dawn, died in New York last week after a long illness following a stroke last year on his birthday.

He was showing signs of improvement, but the death of his wife a month and a half ago came as a blow to him. He was 80.

Mirza Ismail, who joined Dawn after getting a master’s degree in journalism from the Karachi University, later moved to greener pastures and worked for several English newspapers in the Middle East, including Saudi Gazette.

After migrating to the US in 1991 Mirza Ismail remained attached to his profession and worked for ethnic Pakistani newspapers and journals in both Urdu and English. On the whole he completed half a century as a journalist. Back home he was a popular figure among journalists and was elected president and secretary general of the Karachi Press Club thrice.

He leaves behind a son and a daughter.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2021