Abeda Iqbal Azad’s journalistic, literary works praised

Friends and admirers remembered journalist and author Abeda Iqbal Azad on her 11th death anniversary on April 20. A prominent name in the literary circles due to her poetry as well as fiction, Abeda passed away in Karachi in 2012.

She was born to a businessman-cum-educationist, Gholam Rabbani, in Bangladesh in a literary environment that refined her literary skills at an early age as she started her career with Bangladesh Observer and Bangladesh Times as a feature writer.

She took an MBBS degree from Dhaka and moved to Karachi after her marriage to advertising executive Iqbal Azad Syed. Commenting on Abeda’s contributions towards literature and journalism, Urdu scholar Prof Sahar Ansari said it was evident in her writings that she had a strong sense of understanding of Pakistan's cultural multiplicity.

“Abeda was a courteous and mannerly person. She had an optimistic mind and would be missed both for the beautiful words she wrote and her personality,” he said adding that Abeda’s works were an honest analysis of Pakistan’s political history.

He advised the new generations to read Abeda’s works to understand their depth. “Only then they will be able to understand the class of her work.” Scholar Dr Javed Manzar recalled Abida as not only a creative talent but also a fiery explorer who investigated life through her creative and mainstream works.

“Basically she was a humanist and displayed powerful resistance against evil forces in society,” he said, adding that the late author painted life in beautiful words and her work would continue to be appreciated and acknowledged.

Literary personalities Poet Dr Nuzhat Abbasi and Nasim Anjum remembered Abeda as a pleasing personality with beautiful thoughts. They said Abeda’s poetry collection ‘Khamosh Nagar’ was a puzzle as she presumably was in conversation with the silence of the grave and it largely reflected her deep thoughts about human life, which was essentially unpredictable.