First death anniversary of Ahmed Faraz observed

ISLAMABAD : The first death anniversary of poet of love and revolution Ahmed Faraz was observed across the country on Tuesday.

The Hindko-speaking Faraz, who was born on January 14, 1931 in Kohat, died in Chicago last year.

Known as a contemporary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Faraz exemplified a simple but profound style and preferred the language of ordinary people, a private TV channel reported.

He was preoccupied with politics and wrote against dictatorship and even declined the presidential Sitara-e Imtiaz award from former president Pervez Musharraf.

"My conscience will never forgive me if I stay silent spectator of the sad happenings around us," he once said.

"The least I can do is let the dictatorship know where it stands in the eyes of the citizens whose fundamental rights have been usurped. I am doing this by returning the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (civil) forthwith and refuse to associate myself in any way with the regime."

Faraz was exile during the Zia-ul Haq regime after he was arrested for reciting certain poems at a mushaira criticizing the military rule.

He lived outside Pakistan for six years, in the UK, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan where he was initially appointed as the chairman of the Academy of Letters and later Chairperson of the National Book Foundation for several years.