Punjab

Mastana seriously ill, prayers requested

Family appeals for recovery of property from illegal occupants.

Arshad Shaheen/kashif Ansari April 10, 2011

BAHAWALPUR:

Murtaza Hassan alias Mastana, one of the senior-most theatre actors is seriously ill. The family have appealed to the authorities to help them recover his property from illegal occupants so that they can sell some of it and use the money for his treatment. They have also appealed to his fans to step forward and help them in his treatment.

Mastana has been admitted to the Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur for three weeks. His family told The Express Tribune that he was suffering from Hepatitis C. They said that the cost of his treatment was between Rs4,000 and Rs5,000 per day and they were struggling to provide that.

His son Hafiz Saad Hassan is a class IX student.

He said since his father had fallen ill, the family had been left with no source of income. He said they could not afford to spend Rs 4,000-5,000 a day on medicines and other hospital expenses.

Hassan said that the only property his father owned was a plot of land in Lahore that had been illegally occupied by one of his acquaintances.

The younger brother of the ailing comedian, Javed, told The Express Tribune that though his brother was a well known actor, in his private life he was a simple man.

He said that four years ago he stopped working for theatre in Lahore and shifted to his home town in Bahawalpur.

While he was working in Lahore, Javed said, he had purchased a one-kanal plot of land in Johar Town near Bagrian. He said his brother had spent all his savings to purchase the plot.

He said the family needed to sell the plot to finance his treatment abroad.

He appealed to the President of Pakistan, Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take action against the illegal occupant and to recover the plot from his possession.

He appealed to the public to pray for a complete and early recovery for the actor, who is loved across Pakistan for his role in various TV dramas.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (11)

Inaam | 12 years ago | Reply Here is a man, who gave 3 decades of his life to entertaining the millions of people, for derogatory money, in the end when he needed a little assistance no one turned up, what a disgrace this Pakistani society has become? Here is a man who worked day and night sometimes 14 hour shifts earning less than £1 a day, disgrace on you pakistanis.

mussarat hussain | 13 years ago | Reply This is the sad part of story of our artists in corruption-riddled pakistani society. Not only Mastana, many other artists have died unattended by the government. Neither Chief Justice of Pakistan nor Politicians care for dying artists who have served the masses in their prime. I wish all the best to Mastana and pray for his good health. Mussarat Hussain