ISLAMABAD - Renowned Urdu and Punjabi poet, Munir Niazi was remembered on his 97th birth anniversary on Tuesday. He was born on April 9, 1928 in a village near Hoshiarpur. After partition, he moved to Pakistan and proved himself as one of Pakistan’s famous movie songwriters. He also wrote a number of pieces for newspapers and radio. He launched a weekly ‘Saat Rang’ from Sahiwal in 1949. He also established a publication institute Al- Misal in 1960 and remained associated with Lahore Television and lived in Lahore until his death. His poetry influenced an entire generation of young writers and poets. Niazi’s Urdu poetic collections include masterpieces such as “Is Bay Wafa Ka Sheher,” “Tez Hawa Aur Tanha Phool,” “Jangal Mein Dhanak,” “Dushmano Ke Darmiyan Shaam,” “Safaid Din Ki Hawa,” “Aghaz-e-Zamana Mein Dobara,” “Siyaah Shab Ka Samundar,” “Maah-e-Muneer,” “Pehli Baat He Aakhri Thi,” “Ek Dua Jo Main Bhool Gaya Tha,” and “Mohabbat Ab Nahi Hogi,” along with the series “Ek Tasalsul Ke Naam.”
His Punjabi poetry collections, including “Char Chup Cheezan,” and “Rasta Dasan Wale Taare,” have also been widely acclaimed. Munir Niazi deeply influenced his contemporaries and later generations of poets and is respected by the reading public. His works have been translated into many other languages. For his literary achievements, Niazi was awarded Kamal-e-Funn Award for the year 2002 by Pakistan Academy of Letters and the President’s Award for Pride of Performance in 1992 and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1998. He passed away due to respiratory illness on December 26, 2006 in Lahore.
