Agha Nasir (9 February 1937 – 12 July 2016), was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

director, producer, broadcaster and TV playwright. He started his career at

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

in 1955. He later directed TV films and worked in the Pakistani television industry for over 50 years. Agha Nasir was considered by many people in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, as a 'living encyclopedia' of the broadcasting history in Pakistan.

Career

Agha Nasir graduated from the University of Karachi. He was a well-known radio writer, broadcaster and producer before Pakistan Television was launched from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1964. He was one of the people who developed the logo of the

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...

(PTV). He was a member of the pioneering team of people that first introduced television in Pakistan. This team was headed by Ubaidur Rahman (first General Manager) and 'the dynamic' Aslam Azhar (first managing director) of PTV Lahore Center. Agha Nasir produced the popular TV serials ''Girah'' and ''Pani Peh Naam'' and directed the PTV drama '' Taleem-e-Balighan''. He guided Pakistan Television through its early days and then helped build it into a national institution. He was promoted many times during his career at Pakistan Television from a playwright to a programmes producer and director, a General Manager and then a managing director at

at its

Center. He also served as a director general of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

Books

*Gumshuda Log (People we have lost) *Gulshan-i-Yaad (The Garden of Memory) *Hum Jeetay Ji Masroof Rahey (We stayed occupied as long as we lived) *This is PTV - Another Day, Another World *Agha sey Agha Nasir tak (Autobiography)

Awards and recognition

* President's Pride of Performance Award in 1993. * Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award (Star of Excellence) by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

in 2012.

Death and legacy

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over his death on 12 July 2016 in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Agha Nasir left behind his wife Safia Agha, who died on 26 March 2023, in the month of Ramadan. They are survived by their son Agha Bilal and two daughters - Huma and Shamaila. A major Pakistani English-language newspaper commented after his death, "He played a pivotal, pioneering role in establishment and development of PTV as a national institution; in fact, the two were inseparable."

References

1937 births 2016 deaths Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Urdu-language television shows Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Pakistani radio personalities Pakistan Television Corporation executives Muhajir people University of Karachi alumni People from Meerut {{Pakistan-tv-bio-stub