Ishtiaq Ahmed, author of 800 books of children fiction, passed away in Karachi

Ishtiaq Ahmed, author of more than 800 books for children, passed away in Karachi. He was 74 years old.

Ishtiaq Ahmed was in Karachi to attend Karachi International Book Fair (#Kibf). He was at Karachi airport waiting for flight to Lahore when he experienced heart attack, which proved to be fatal.

Isthiaq Ahmed was the pioneer of mystery and suspense fiction for children. He started writing at the time when Ibn-e-Safi’s Imran Series and Jasoosi Dunya (Colonel Faridi Series) were the rage. However, as the books were adult oriented, parents were wary of allowing their kids to read those books. Ishitaq Ahmed’s novels were suitable for every member of a family, ranging from 8 to 80 years of age. He introduced three series of characters including Inspector Jamshed Series, Inspector Kamran Series and Shoki brothers. Inspector Jamshed and his children Mehmood, Farooq and Farzana were the most famous of his characters.

Ishtiaq Ahmed’s books gained cult status during the 80s and early 90s. His fans used to queue up to buy new books and often reprints have to published within days of launch. He went into background at the turn of century. However, he was brought back to mainstream few years back by Mr. Farooq Ahmed of Atlantis Publications who started to publish his new books as well as reprints of old novels.

His first novel “Packet Ka Raaz” was published in 1972, while the novel “Imran ki Wapsi”, his first ever attempt to write Imran Series, turned out to be his last. According to Farooq Ahmed, his publisher, there are at least fifteen unpublished novels in queue which will be published later.

Ishtiaq Ahmed leaves behind his wife, five sons, three daughters and hundreds of thousands of fans – spanning multiple generations. May his soul rest in peace.

Here is an interview of Ishtiaq Ahmed at the venue of Karachi International Book Fair 2011