Aslam Azhar ( ur, ; 2 September 1932 – 29 December 2015) was a

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

executive, considered to be the "father of

".Aslam Azhar - A Hard but Happy Life
Dawn (newspaper), Published 15 January 2011, Retrieved 1 December 2018Enthralling content: Aslam Azhar recites Ghalib
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 20 April 2014, Retrieved 1 December 2018 He was the first Chairman and Managing Director of PTV first appointed during

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in November 1964 when PTV ''Lahore Center'' first started broadcasting and went on the air. He was awarded the Tamgha-i-Pakistan (Medal of Pakistan) for his pioneering services in the television broadcasting field by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Subsequently, in 1988, he became the first Chairman of the PTV who was not a bureaucrat as all earlier chairmen were there because of their being federal information secretaries.

Early life and career

Aslam Azhar was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

as a son of a government servant during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. He studied law at Cambridge University and later worked for the Burmah Oil Company. He was also interested in theater, and met his wife Nasreen Jan through a theater group. Meanwhile, Pakistani government wanted to set up a television service in the country. The Japanese were given the contract to set up a pilot television station in Lahore. Aslam Azhar was asked to come to Lahore from Karachi and start the television station in Lahore. He convinced the renowned writers

Ashfaq Ahmed Ashfaq Ahmed Khan ( ur, ; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a writer, playwright and broadcaster from Pakistan. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio of Pakistan. He received the President's ...

and Anwar Sajjad to write for television.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

, his favorite poet, became his friend, too. Surrounded by legendary literary figures and great actors, musicians and singers, Aslam Azhar created an environment for great television in 1964. He said that, in those days, commitment counted. Those people were committed and devoted. It was a very cultured society. But over the years, like everywhere else in the world, Pakistan had become a consumer society and television plays a consumer product. He had a reputation of being honest to the core and respected by all at

Death and legacy

He died on 29 December 2015 at the age of 83. His funeral was performed on 30 December 2015 at

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He has two sons, Usama Azhar and

Arieb Azhar Arieb Azhar (born 1972) is a Pakistani musician known for his renderings of traditional Sufi poetry and folk songs. Early life Arieb Azhar was born on 30 June 1972 at Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He is the second son of Aslam Azhar, known as the fat ...

, who is a musician, and a daughter, Umaima Azhar. Also among the survivors was his wife of 51 years, Nasreen Azhar. In 2016, one of the major English-language Pakistani newspaper commented, "He was one of the founding fathers of Pakistan Television (PTV) – the title not merely an empty slogan. When the medium came to Pakistan in 1964, Azhar spearheaded its evolution, and did not make his exit before making PTV a dynamic broadcasting institution." Another Pakistani veteran bureaucrat

Roedad Khan Roedad Khan ( Urdu: روئیداد خان; born 28 September 1923) is a Pakistani politician and former civil servant. He was a leading figure in Pakistan from the start to the end of the Cold War. During his long career, Khan was one of the mo ...

said, 'I called Aslam Azhar, who was general manager at the time, and said I don't know much about television but I want to learn. I learnt a lot from him. Before the 1970 elections, we decided to cover the elections live. Even though the technology wasn't advanced enough, and the engineers had no experience with it, we did it." "Leaders such as

Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri ( ur, عبدالقیوم خان کشمیری) (16 July 1901 – 23 October 1981) was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistan politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province, where served a ...

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods. Maulana Bhashani was pop ...

Sheikh Mujibur Rehman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

and others were given the opportunity to speak live." Roedad Khan said in his tribute to Aslam Azhar at the event.

Awards and recognition

* A Special Award from

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards a ...

- Millennium Award in 1999. * A Tamgha-i-Pakistan Award in 1968 by the

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

Award (Star of Excellence) Award on 23 March 2012 by President

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan ...

.Aslam Azhar's Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award info on The Express Tribune (newspaper)
Published 23 March 2012, Retrieved 1 December 2018

Early life and career

Death and legacy

Awards and recognition

See also