August 07, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 22, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 6: Veteran journalist Aziz Mazhar died of a cardiac arrest here on Monday morning. He was 79. Family said Mr Mazhar, who had been fighting against heart and respiratory ailments for the last couple of years, complained about pain in chest at around 11:30am. He was taken to a nearby clinic where he breathed his last.

He is survived by four sons and as many daughters.

His funeral prayers were offered near his residence at 415-Jahanzeb Block of Allama Iqbal Town, and he was laid to rest in the Karim Block graveyard in the evening in the presence of hundreds of people belonging to all walks of life.

Born on Feb 16, 1929, at Mochi Gate, Aziz Mazhar graduated from the Islamia College, Railway Road, before partition. He actively took part in the independence movement as an office bearer of the Muslim Students Federation along with columnist Irshad Ahmad Haqqani and former federal minister Sartaj Aziz.

He began his career as a journalist in 1964 by joining Zamindar of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan. He also brought out his own newspaper, Hamqadam, and after its closure because of financial constraints, joined Kohistan as a reporter.

Mr Mazhar then joined daily Mashriq as a reporter and retired from the newspaper as its chief editor in 1989. He was sacked from Mashriq in 1982 for taking part in the movement against the Zia regime’s curbs on the freedom of press and was reinstated in 1984. For a shortwhile, he joined Business Recorder.

After retirement, Mr Mazhar brought out his own newspaper, Hayat-i-Nau, which had to be closed down for want of funds.

Ever ready to guide youngsters in his profession, Mr Mazhar had been a fatherly figure for journalists of all age who always looked towards him for guidance. He remained Lahore Press Club president for five consecutive terms from 1982 onwards, chosen president of the Punjab Union of Journalists and a secretary-general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

He was also an active member of the World Punjabi Congress, the Pak-India Forum and several other organisations. His services for the promotion of peace between the people of Pakistan and India will long be remembered.

He was a life member of the Lahore Press Club and chairman of its election committee for the last a decade or so.