LAHORE: The birth anniversary of Munir Niazi, a renowned Urdu and Punjabi poet, was commemorated on Sunday.
Niazi was born on April 9, 1928, in a village near Hoshiarpur, British India. Following the partition in August 1947, he migrated to Pakistan.
He is known as one of Pakistan’s famous movie songwriters and wrote numerous pieces for newspapers and radio. In 1949, he launched a weekly publication named Saat Rang from Sahiwal.
Additionally, he established a publication institute Al-Misaal in 1960 and was associated with Pakistan Television until his demise.
Niazi’s poetry impacted an entire generation of young writers and poets, and his works include Dushmanoon Key Darmiyan, Mah-e-Munir, Aghaz-e-Zamastan Main Dobara, and Aik Musalsal.
His literary achievements were recognised with the Kamaal-e-Funn Award for the year 2002 by the Pakistan Academy of Letters, the president’s honour for Pride of Performance in 1992, and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1998.
Niazi passed away due to respiratory illness on December 26, 2006, in Lahore.
Despite his death, he still deeply influences his contemporaries and later generations of poets and is respected by the reading public. His works have been translated into many other languages.
