KARACHI, March 30: Well-known comedian and writer Liaquat Soldier died of a heart attack on Wednesday. According to a relative of the late actor, he was 55.

He is survived by a wife, three sons and a daughter.

Liaquat Soldier was on a private TV channel with his longtime friend and comedian Shahzad Raza giving opinion on the Pakistan-India semifinal cricket match in his typical humorous way when during a break he went behind the sets feeling uncomfortable.

His colleagues tried to help him out but he died within a few minutes.

Liaquat began his showbiz career in 1973. He wrote and acted in more than 200 commercial plays for the theatre. His pair with Shahzad Raza had earned a distinct reputation among admirers of commercial theatre in Karachi. Some of the most successful plays that he penned and acted in were Airport 2008, Zara Hutt K, Eidi Dey Do, World Cup and Shadi Ho To Aisi.

Liaquat Soldier also wrote plays for Umar Sharif, foremost of which was Behroopia, which has been made into a TV series.

He worked in a few films also.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, adviser to the CM Rashid Rabbani and coordinator Waqar Mehdi offered their condolences to the family of Liaquat Soldier.—Peerzada Salman