Explanation

Noted poet Arif Shafique passed away on Saturday, 14 Dec 2019 after a protracted illness. He was 63. Mr Shafique was born to a middle-class family on Oct 31, 1956 in Karachi’s Sharifabad neighbourhood in Federal Capital Area. He received education there and worked and edited various Urdu newspapers. He attained fame for his poetry that plainly discussed and criticised the class divide in the country. He was a prolific poet and writer and published nine books of poetry — Andhi sochain goongay log, Seep key deep, Jab zameen per koii diwar na thi, Ehtejaj, Sarphiri hawa, Main hawaon ka rukh badal doonga, Mera shahr jal raha hai, Yaqeen and Meri dharti meray log. He was ranked among those poets and writers whose key subject was to discuss issues that affect the people of cities with particular reference to Karachi.