LAHORE – Pakistan’s revolutionary poet and writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz was remembered on his 110th birth anniversary on Saturday for his literary work. The leftist poet and author was born on 13th February, 1911 at Narowal district.Born in Punjab, British India, Faiz went on to study at Government College and Oriental College. He went on to serve in the British Indian Army and was awarded in the British Empire Medal.
After Pakistan’s independence, Faiz became the editor to The Pakistan Times and a leading member of the Communist Party before being arrested in 1951 as an alleged part of a conspiracy to overthrow the Liaquat administration and replace it with a left-wing government.
Faiz was released after four years in prison and went on to become a notable member of the Progressive Writers’ Movement and eventually an aide to Bhutto administration, before being self-exiled to Beirut. His collections of work include Naqsh-e-faryadi, Dast-e-Saba, Zindaan Naama and Sham-e-Sheher-e-Yaaran.
Not only he was one of the most celebrated writers of the Urdu language, but among his other accolades, Faiz was awarded Pakistan`s highest civil award Nishan-e-Imtiaz in 1990 in recognition of his services in literature. He was nominated for Nobel prize in Literature and won the Lenin Peace Prize.
