He was admitted to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Saturday night after he complained of chest pain while sitting at Karachi Press Club. He was immediately rushed to the NICVD and suffered two more heart attacks while undergoing angioplasty procedure.
He was shifted to Coronary Care Unit (CCU) where he breathed his last on Wednesday evening.
Born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, in 1944, his family migrated to Pakistan soon after Partition and settled in Hyderabad, Sindh, where he had his education from school to university.
In 1960s, while still a student, he joined the Indus Times, a national daily from Hyderabad, as a proofreader. Spending almost half a century in journalism he remained associated with various media organizations in different capacities.
He worked as a reporter for the Pakistan Press International before becoming part of the launching team of Saudi Arab's English daily, The Arab News.
Back home after spending some years in Jeddah, he joined The Star, an eveninger of Dawn group of newspapers. Later he moved to The Herald, another monthly publication of the same group.
While working for The Star and The Herald, he also served as a correspondent for BBC Urdu service.
His last assignment, spread over five years, was as Head of Editorial Committee of Geo News, a position he quit some two months back. He was also a recipient of Pride of Performance Award in 2015 for his outstanding services in the field of journalism. He was also president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).
His funeral prayers will be offered after Zuhr prayers at Waseem Bagh mosque in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D on Thursday.
He will be laid to rest at Yaseenabad graveyard.
Condolences
Condolences poured in from friends and colleagues as soon as the news of his death was confirmed.
Just heard from the family that noted journalist Idrees Bakhtiar has passed away. Spent over 2 decades with him at The Star, Herald & BBC. He was a friend, colleague and mentor. Above all he was one of the most honest journalis & a great human being. Will be greatly missed. RIP.
— Zaffar Abbas (@abbasz55) May 29, 2019
Farewell.. friend.. mentor.. great human being @idreesbakhtiar .. feeling deeply deeply saddened, as i am sure are a legion of his friends and admirers. May Allah bless his soul and give strength to his family إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ pic.twitter.com/qe6gpptjSa
— afia salam (@afiasalam) May 29, 2019
Idrees Bakhtiar is no more. He was like my teacher. His death is a loss to journalism. Only few days back we had a long chat at Karachi Press Club. May Allah give his family strength to bear the loss.
— Mazhar Abbas (@MazharAbbasGEO) May 29, 2019
Senior journalist, formerly of @BBCUrdu, The Herald and @geonews_urdu and our dear and much loved colleague of many, many years @idreesbakhtiar sahib has passed away in Karachi. Inna lillahe wainna alehe rajeoun.
— Hasan Zaidi (@hyzaidi) May 29, 2019
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