LAHORE, Feb 3: Senior journalist Ayesha Haroon died of cancer in a New York hospital on Saturday, one of her brothers said. She was 46.

Her funeral will take place at a mosque near her home, 78, Haroon Street, Babar Block, New Garden Town, Lahore on Thursday after Zohar prayer. She will be laid to rest next to her father’s (Syed Haroon Shah) grave in Miani sahib graveyard.

Known as a brave person and a professional journalist, Ayesha started contributing to The Frontier Post in 1990 when she was studying at the Kinnaird College. After completing her master’s, she formally joined the newspaper and became its magazine editor. Later, she joined The Nation as magazine editor and then served as a special correspondent. She also worked as the resident editor of The Nation in Islamabadd before joining as director news of Waqt TV. In fact, she planned and set up the TV channel and trained its team.

She joined The News as its Lahore editor in 2007. About four years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer and she got her initial treatment at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore. Later, she was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York where she went through a long process of treatment and was recovering when the disease recurred in June last year. Her health kept deteriorating over the past few months and she died peacefully.

Ayesha is survived by husband Dr Faisal Bari, brothers Hassan Mustafa Haroon and Syed Usman Haroon and mother. She also left behind grieving friends and a large number of journalists she had trained during her illustrious career.

Arif Nizami, former editor of The Nation, said that Ayesha would always help her colleagues.

“She was a brave person and a sincere friend,” he said.

Beena Sarwar, a senior journalist at The News, said Ayesha was an extraordinary woman who fearlessly highlighted issues facing the country. “She bravely faced the deadly disease. I have lost a great friend and the profession a true journalist,” she said.

Mayed Ali, chief reporter of The News, Lahore, said Ayesha was very kind to her juniors and was always ready to guide them.

Senior journalist Mubashar Bokhari recalled that she was the driving force for journalists during the freedom of expression movement in early 1990s.

Huma Ali, a senior journalist and a former president of the Lahore Press Club, said that even during her treatment at the Shaukat Khanum Hospital, she would never refuse anyone seeking her help or guidance in professional matters.