ISLAMABAD: Veteran playwright and actor Shoaib Hashmi passed away after a prolonged illness on Monday afternoon, his family said.
PTI reported on its Twitter account that 84-year-old Hashmi, the husband of educationist and artist Salima Hashmi, was also a professor of economics.
Hashmi did an MSc from the London School of Economics, a master’s in economics from Government College, Lahore, and studied theatre in London.
According to his profile on Dawn, he is remembered for his productions such as Sach Gup, Akkar Bakkar, Balila, and Taal Matol for TV before the 1990s and the columns and articles he wrote for Gulf News and The News.
Hashmi also translated a few books and wrote plays for the local theatre. Fifty-two poems of his father-in-law Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s “A Song for this day” are among his most remarkable translations. His wife illustrated the book.
Due to lacking Urdu playwrights and drama magazines, he translated many English plays for regional theatres.
Shoaib Hashmi was a satirist who wrote pioneering satire shows for PTV in the 1970s. His last TV venture was a serial ‘Balila’ in 1979. The Zia dictatorship banned it. He was also a professor of economics.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed sorrow and grief over the death of Shoaib Hashmi. He extended condolences to Salima Hashmi, and other family members.
Shehbaz Sharif said Shoaib Hashmi played an important role in the golden era of PTV. He introduced a new dimension to comedy programmes. Shoaib Hashmi wrote memorable plays. He promoted lucent values, traditions, and ideas through his pen.
“Writers and intellectuals like him taught society civility, politeness, and literature. His death is a significant loss to society, art, and literature,” he said.
Shehbaz Sharif prayed that Allah raise the ranks of the departed soul and give patience to the bereaved family.
