Zafar Iqbal (; born 27 September 1932) is an

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 ...

poet from Pakistan.

Early life and career

Zafar was born in 1932 in Bahawalnagar, Punjab where his maternal grandparents lived. He received his basic early education in Okara, Punjab which is his hometown and later moved to

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 ...

for his college education. His poetry is mainly in the genre of

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

. The diction of his ghazal is entirely different from traditional Urdu poetry. He is a lawyer by profession, and regularly contributes articles to some Urdu newspapers. In contrast to classical poets, Zafar's poetry portrays ''love'' as scientific and physical rather than supernatural. Dr Tabassam Kaashmiri called him ''Literature's renegade'' of the 20th century. Former Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Hanif Ramay, who was also a writer and a well-known

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

, called him a poet of a new tone and new concepts. Besides being a poet, he has been a newspaper columnist for different newspapers for over 35 years. Considering that he also has been a professional lawyer for most of his adult life, those are not small accomplishments. He practised as an attorney, first in Okara and then in Lahore until 2003, when he had a heart bypass surgery and quit practicing law.

Poetry collections

*Tamjid *Taqweem *Tashkeel *Tajawaz *Tawarid *Tasahil *Hay Hanuman *Ab Tak *Gul Aftaab *Tofeeq

Books

*Aab-i-Rawan *Gulaftab *Ratb-o-Yabis *Ghubaaralood simtaun ka suragh *Sar-i-aam *Aib-o-hunar *Vehm-o-gumaan

Awards and recognition

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 ...

Award (Crescent 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.

in 2014.Honouring the distinguished: President approves national civil awards
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 14 August 2013, Retrieved 27 February 2018 *

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 ...

Award by the

in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iqbal, Zafar) 1932 births Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani lawyers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Living people Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz People from Bahawalnagar District