KARACHI: It was a sombre evening at the Karachi Press Club; a meeting held in memory of those who left us in the recent past— Abdullah Malik, Dr Mosharref Ahmad, noted critic and poet Iftekhar Jalib and famous fiction and TV writer Hameed Kashmiri, who died only a few days back.

Among those who spoke were Rauf Niazi, Shafiq Ahmad Shafiq, Mumtaz Somro, Ahmad Saghir Siddiqui, Abdul Hameed Chapra, Zeb Azkar Hussain, and Jan Khaskheli who also conducted the proceedings.

While Mr Chapra recalled his association with late Abdullah Malik, a dedicated journalist and writer who authored several books of historical importance, some others described his commitment to the cause of press freedom.

Mr Rauf Niazi described the path-finding role of late Iftikhar Jalib in the 60s and shed light on his critical theory which had taken the literary world by storm.

He also described his association with Dr Mosharraf, a story writer with a distinct style combining narrative with symbolism. His devotion to the short story was such that he arranged meetings at his residence and invited noted writers to present their writings. A simple, honest and soft spoken person, he left a lasting impression in creative literature.

Mr Shafiq and Ahmad Saghir Siddiqui also remembered Dr Mosharref Ahmad. Some speakers noted that the attendance at the meeting was very poor which reflected the declining interest of journalists in literature and in their own profession.—Hasan Abidi