KARACHI, March 18: Eminent Urdu poet Amirul Islam Hashmi passed away after a long illness here on early Monday morning. He was 83.

Mr Hashmi was known for his humour-laden Urdu poetry. He was one of those poets whose humour embodied literary allusions and references. His books ‘Gar Tu Bura Na Maane’, ‘Waliakumus Salam’, ‘Zarb-i-Zarafat’, ‘Ye Arz Phir Karoon Ga’ and ‘Mujh Ko Samjhe Khuda Kare Koee’ were critically acclaimed collections of poems. He acquired his master’s degree in engineering from Aligarh and after the partition came to Pakistan. He lived a good part of his life in Islamabad and in the 1990s shifted to Karachi. He was the writer of satirical poems such as ‘Quaid-i-Azam Dekha Tum Ne Apna Pakistan’ and ‘Iqbal Tere Des Ka Kia Haal Sunaon’. One of Mr Hashmi’s famous couplets is:

Larki class ki thi larka classical tha Kis class ka tha, ye arz phir karun ga (The girl was in his class and he, classical Will tell you later what class he belonged to). —Staff Reporter