Samina Raja, a renowned Urdu poet, writer, translator, educationist and broadcaster who passed away in Islamabad last night, was laid to rest at the Islamabad Graveyard early Wednesday morning. Raja, who had been suffering from cancer, was 51. Notable literary personalities, including three prominent women poets and activists attended her funeral procession. Raja was working as a subject specialist in the National Language Authority and was planning to bring out a special edition of literary magazine Khwabgar (the Dream Maker) on legendary poet Ahmad Faraz. In their condolence message, members of Idara said, “Samina Raja is one of the top poets of Pakistan. In her death Pakistan has lost an eminent poet. “ Born on September 11, 1961 in Rahim Yar Khan, Raja held a master’s degree in Urdu literature from the University of Punjab. She started writing poetry in 1973 and had 15 books of poetry published. She also wrote some books in Urdu prose, besides editing and translating some valuable works of prose from English to Urdu. Raja joined the National Book Foundation as a consultant in 1998 and edited its monthly newsletter Kitab from 1998 to 2005. She also edited monthly literary magazines Mustaqbil(1991–1994), Aasar (1998–2004), and Khwabgar from 2008 till her death. In her poetry she highlighted the feminine and human perspectives of love and longing, nostalgia of the past and past lives, socio-psychological problems of the new age, mythological and metaphysical subjects.
