Iftikhar Arif

Iftikhar Hussain Arif (born 21 March 1944) is a Pakistani poet and litterateur of Urdu. His main theme is romantic Urdu poetry. He is a former chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) and the National Language Authority.

Arif is widely considered one of the leading contemporary Urdu poets, and has received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, and Presidential Pride of Performance awards, the highest literary awards given by the Government of Pakistan.

Early life and career

Iftikhar Hussain Arif was born on 21 March 1944. He enrolled at the University of Lucknow, where he studied English, Urdu and Sanskrit and got his MA degree in 1965, then studied journalism at New York University. In the same year, Arif then migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, where he worked as a newscaster for Radio Pakistan.

Achievements Arif has published three poetry collections: Mehr-i-Doneem (1984), Harf-i-Baryab (1994) and Jahan-e-Maloom.

Oxford University Press has published an anthology of his translated poetry, Written in the Season of Fear, with an introduction by Harris Khalique, a poet who writes in English, Urdu and Punjabi.

Awards Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan (2023) Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan (2005) Pride of Performance (literature) by the President of Pakistan (1990) Faiz International Award for Poetry from the Aalami Urdu Conference