PESHAWAR: Sufi Pashto poet Johar Adnan breathed his last in his home in Akhaund Ahmad Landi following brief illness here on Sunday. He was 65.

Literati, scholars and literary circles expressed deep sorrow and grief over his untimely demise. His demise was termed an irreparable loss to Pashto Sufi traditions and Pashto literature at large.

He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard the same day where local poets, writers and fans attended his funeral payers. He left behind a widow, four sons and four daughters to mourn his death.

Born in 1960 in Akhund Ahmad Landi, Johrarullah aka Johar Adnan could get regular education only till 6th grade but kept on pursuing his expensive study and mastered Pashto, Persian and Arabic languages. Owing to domestic issues, he went to jail in his early teens, where he started composing poems.

Johar Adnan drew inspiration from classic Pashto poets including Rahman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak and Hamza Baba alongside Persian Sufi traditions. Major portion of his poetry is believed to have been lost. However, his diehard fans retrieved some of his inspirational poetic pieces and brought it out titled ‘Ramz’ (the secret) way back in 2022.

Young research scholar Abbas Khalil also conducted a comprehensive research on him in Pashto and published it titled ‘Johar Adan: Fun Au Shakhsiat (art and works of Johar Adnan) and it received great appreciation from literary circles both in Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Prof Hanif Khalil in his research treatise published sometime back termed him a staunch Sufi poet with vast scholarship, saying his poetry was laden with inspiration from classic and modern Pashto trends including romanticism, Pashtun nationalism and spiritualism.

Shahab Aziz Arman, another poet, said Johar Adnan was a true inspiration for budding bards.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2025