Idhar hum, udhar tum: Abbas Athar remembered

“Athar used to finalise the front page of his paper by 4pm,” says the executive editor of The Express Tribune.

ISLAMABAD: Renowned for his headlines and unmatched news editing, Daily Express Group Editor Abbas Athar passed away on Monday. For his headlines and journalistic work, he would be remembered for a long time to come. Staffers of The Express Tribune held a condolence meeting here, paying tributes to the veteran journalist for his decades of brilliance.

Athar, who was suffering from cancer, had been hospitalised in Lahore. “It was a great loss to journalism in general and the Express Media Group in particular,” said Muhammad Ziauddin, the executive editor of The Express Tribune.

Ziauddin said Athar was a journalist of vast talent. He was the most capable news editor of his time, and it was said that he used to finalise the front page of his paper by 4pm, which any journalist would know, is simply incredible, Ziauddin added.

Athar attracted attention with his famous headline ‘idhar hum, udhar tum’ (We rule here, you rule there), referring to a statement by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during the debacle following the elections of 1970.

More recently, he penned a poetic eulogy in Punjabi for assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto titled “Bhutto di beti aai si” (The daughter of Bhutto came here).

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2013.