Life and career
After
Partition, when Ashfaq Ahmed arrived at the Walton refugee camp with millions of other migrants, he used to make announcements on a megaphone around the clock. Later, he got a job in Radio
Azad Kashmir, which was established on a truck that used to drive around in various parts of
Kashmir. He then got lectureship at
Dayal Singh College, Lahore for two years. Whereafter, he went to
Rome to join Radio Rome as an Urdu newscaster. He also used to teach Urdu at Rome university. During his stay in
Europe, he got diplomas in the
Italianand
French languages from the University of Rome and University of
Grenoble,
France. He also got special training diploma in radio broadcasting from
New York University.
He started writing stories in his childhood, which were published in Phool [Flower] magazine. After returning to
Pakistan from
Europe, he took out his own monthly literary magazine, Dastaango [Story Teller], and joined
Radio Pakistan as a script writer. He was made editor of the popular Urdu weekly, Lail-o-Nahar [Day and Night], in place of famous poet Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by the Government of Pakistan.
In 1962, Ashfaq Ahmed started his popular radio program, Talqeen Shah [The Preacher] which made him immensely popular among the people in towns and villages. It was a weekly feature that ran for three decades, the longest weekly radio show in the subcontinent. He was appointed director of the Markazi Urdu Board in 1966, which was later renamed as Urdu Science Board, a post he held for 29 years. He remained with the board until 1979. He also served as adviser in the Education Ministry during
Zia-ul-Haq's regime. In the 60s, he produced a feature film, Dhoop aur Saie [Shadows and Sunshine], which was not very successful at the box office.
Works
- Aik hi boli
- Aik Mohabbat 100 Dramey
- Aik Muhabbat So Afsaney
- Arz-e-musannif
- Aur Dramey
- Band Gali
- Baba Sahiba
- Dhandoraa - Talqeen Shah
- Gadaria - Ujlay Phool
- Gulldan
- Hairat Kaadah
- Hasart-e-Tameer
- Jung Ba Jung
- Khail Tamasha
- Khatiya Watiyaa - Poetry
- Man Chaley Ka Soda
See also | - Mehmaansaraey
- Nangey Paoon
- Safar Dar Safar
- Safar e Maina
- Shahla Kot
- Shehre Aarzoo
- Shora Shori - Talqeen Shah
- Subhaey Ifsaney
- Talism Hosh Afza
- Tota Kahani
- Uchay Buraj Lahore Dey
- Waday e Jan
- Zaviya -
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