Iftikhar Hussain Arif (born 21 March 1944) is a Pakistani poet and litterateur of

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. His main theme is romantic

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

and he has headed the Pakistan Academy of Letters and the National Language Authority. Arif has received the

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

Hilal-e-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") Awards and decorations of the Pakistan military, civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military Officer (armed fo ...

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

, and Presidential

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

awards, the highest literary awards given by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

Early life and career

Iftikhar Arif was born on 21 March 1944 and attended the University of Lucknow, where he studied English, Urdu and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and got his MA degree in 1965, then studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He then migrated to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan, where he was a newscaster for

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 ...

. He then joined 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 ...

(Karachi Center) where he teamed up with Obaidullah Baig for the PTV program ''Kasauti''. He spent the next thirteen years in England, until 1990, working for ''Urdu Markaz'' there.

Achievements

Arif has published three poetry collections: ''Mehr-i-Doneem'' (1984), ''Harf-i-Baryab'' (1994) and ''Jahan-e-Maloom''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

has published an anthology of his translated poetry, ''Written in the Season of Fear'', with an introduction by Harris Khalique, a poet who writes in English, Urdu and Punjabi.

Awards

Nishan-i-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

(Order of Excellence) Award 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.

(2023) *

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

(Crescent of Excellence) Award by the

(2005)Profile of Iftikhar Arif on rekhta.org website
Retrieved 15 April 2019 *

(Star of Excellence) Award by the

(1999)Iftikhar Arif interview on Samaa TV website
17 November 2018, Retrieved 15 April 2019 *

(literature) by the

(1990) *Faiz International Award for Poetry from the Aalami Urdu Conference

Bibliography

*''Mehr-i-Doneem'' (1984) *''Harf-i-Baryab'' (1994) *''Jahan-e-Maloom'' (2005) *''Shehr-e-Ilm ke derwazay per'' (2006) *''Written in the Season of Fear'' (English translation) *''The Twelfth Man'' (translation of ''Barhwan Khilari'' by Brenda Walker, 1989) *''Kitab-e-Dil-o-Dunya'' (2009) *''Modern Poetry of Pakistan'' (2011)Modern Poetry of Pakistan written by Iftikhar Arif, a book review on GoogleBooks website
Retrieved 15 April 2019

Notes

References

External links

Iftikhar Arif expressing his views on today's poetry. and then reciting some of his poetry. 29/04/2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arif, Iftikhar 1944 births Living people Writers from Lucknow Muhajir people Pakistani male poets Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz University of Lucknow alumni Poets from Karachi Pakistani male writers Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani radio presenters Pakistani television people Writers from Karachi