Mystic, writer, civil servant: Qudrat Ullah Shahab remembered

ISLAMABAD: July 24 marks one of Pakistan’s eminent Urdu writer and civil servant Qudrat Ullah Shahab’s 27th death anniversary. Best known for his autobiography, Shahab Nama, Shahab was born in Gilgit in 1917. His father was a student at Muslim Anglo Oriental College and a protégée under the supervision of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Shahab started writing in his early days both in Urdu and English languages. At the age of 16, he won an international essay competition organised by the Readers Digest, London. He graduated from Prince of Wales College, Jammu, and later from Government College Lahore. A career bureaucrat, Shahab served Indian Civil Services and latter Pakistan till he resigned after a clash with the new regime of Yahya Khan and opted for a self-imposed exile at UK. Shahab was elected a member of the executive board of UNESCO in 1968. He died on 24 July 1986 in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2013.