KARACHI, Aug 13: Renowned historian Dr Riazul Islam died here on Monday after a brief illness. He was 88. He devoted 26 years of his life to the University of Karachi as professor at its Department of History and was the university’s only professor emeritus.

Born on Dec 30, 1919 in Rampur (India), Dr Islam discovered his passion for history while he was a student of Aligarh University. Holding two PhDs in history, one from Aligarh University (1946) and the other from Cambridge University (1956), the professor joined the KU’s History Department in 1953 as an associate professor.

He authored many books, besides research articles for foreign journals. His book “Sufism in South Asia” and one on the history of Sindh are considered to be rich with details of the dynamic culture and heritage of the region.

The multilingual expert of history also remained associated with the Board of Advanced Studies and Research, Karachi. He was one of the founders and lifetime secretary of the KU’s Institute of Central and West Asian Studies.

KU Vice-chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim, expressing sorrow over Dr Islam’s death, said: “The death of such a scholar is nothing less than a loss of fortune for the country.”

Dr Islam will be buried in the university graveyard on Tuesday.