Eminent poet, critic and a senior civil servant of Customs Group Akhtar Zaman Khattak was remembered at a reference by his friends and associates. The reference in his memory was arranged by Pashto Adabi Society, Islamabad, at Pakistan Academy of Letters.Speakers paid glowing tributes to literary services of Khattak as well as his material support and efforts for promotion of culture and literature. Some of them also lauded his commitment to the ideals of Marxism.
Khattak died on December 21, 2011 at a private hospital in the federal capital after a protracted illness due to heart failure. He was a renowned Pashto, Urdu and English poet whose work published recently. He is survived by a widow, two daughters and a son.
During his life spanning over 52 years, Khattak had made an impact on many peoples’ lives, said the speakers, adding that he was always there whenever required. He was among those people, who were a source of attraction, as he was equally loved, admired and respected by his relatives, friends and associates, they added. Through a unanimously passed resolution, the participants demanded the government to allot a plot and funds for building a centre for Pashto literary and cultural activities. The writers and intellectuals present on the occasion appealed the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to help Pakhtuns in the federal capital to materialise the proposal. Prominent among the speakers were Abdul Rahman Betab, Shoaib Yousafzai, Iqbal Hussain Afkar, Akbar Sial, Saleem Shah, Abdul Jabbar Hamid, Khurshid Ahmed Khurshid, Mohammad Ibrar, Hafeez Khattak, Quraysh Khattak, Khan Karim Afridi, Mujahideen Mujahid, Murad Ali Shah, Tahir Khattak and Rasheed Khattak.
