Renowned Urdu poet Naseer Turabi passes away at 75

KARACHI: India-born renowned Pakistani Urdu poet and author Naseer Turabi has died of a heart attack in Karachi.

He was 75.

Turabi, who was born on June 15, 1945 in Hyderabad Deccan, is survived by his wife and two sons, Dawn News reported on Monday.

He died of a heart attack here on Sunday evening, the paper said. Turabi was laid to rest at Wadi-a-Hussain graveyard here on Monday.

His father, Allama Rasheed Turabi, was a renowned religious scholar who migrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947 and settled in Karachi.

Turabi obtained an MA in Journalism from Karachi University in 1962.

He started his journey as a poet in 1962.

His most famous work includes the ghazal 'Woh Humsafar Tha', which he wrote against the backdrop of the Dhaka Fall in 1971.

This ghazal was later used as the soundtrack for 2011 Pakistani drama serial, Humsafar.

Turabi's first compilation of poetry 'Aks-e-Faryadi' was published in 2000.

Along with his literary services, Turabi held key positions in several prominent institutions of Urdu literature.

He served as an executive member of Pakistan Writer's Guild and a member of Area Study Centre, Europe's board of governors.

Turabi was honoured with the Allama Iqbal Award by the Pakistan Academy of Letters.