Shoaib Hashmi ( ur, ) is a veteran

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

from

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 ...

Family life and education

Hashmi received his Master of Arts degree in economics from Government College (now Government College University),

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. ...

and his MSc. degree from

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE),

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

He also studied theater at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, London. Hashmi is married to

Salima Hashmi Salima Hashmi ( ur, ; born 1942) is a Pakistani painter artist, former college professor, anti-nuclear weapons activist and former caretaker minister in Sethi caretaker ministry. She has served for four years as a professor and the dean of Nati ...

, the daughter of noted Pakistani poet,

Faiz Ahmed 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 ...

. The couple have two children.

Career

Teaching

Hashmi taught economics for many years at Government College (now Government College University),

and later taught Lahore School of Economics. For a while now, he has been sick and paralyzed. He has difficulty walking and talking. Shoaib is under treatment in

. Besides his immediate family wishing him well, among his well-wishers is

Arshad Mehmood (composer) Arshad Mehmood is a Pakistani actor, music composer, and a singer. Early life and career He had started composing music for Pakistan Television Corporation back in 1972. EMI Pakistan period He later was the driving force behind EMI Pakistan ...

, an accomplished music composer and actor in Pakistan, who happens to be one of his fond students from 1969 - Shoaib's college-teaching-days in Lahore. Arshad Mehmood commented about Shoaib Hashmi in an interview to a major newspaper, "A man of few words, Hashmi is courteous, tolerant and compassionate. I often meet his friends and students and they all love him. He is basically an artist and a humanist. Poetry and music are his favourite topics of discussion."

Works

TV serials

He wrote the following comedy TV serials for

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 ...

(PTV) which originally aired in the 1970s. * Akkar Bakkar (1970s comedy show designed to educate children) * Sach Gupp (1970s comedy show)'The story behind the loss of PTV 's precious archives'
Dawn (newspaper), Published 15 August 2014, Retrieved 16 December 2018 * Taal Matol (1970s comedy show) * Balila - banned soon after it aired.

Newspaper column

* 'Taal Matol' newspaper column in

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...

newspaper on Sundays.

Awards

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

in 1995'Humor's prodigy' Profile of Shoaib Hashmi on Dawn (newspaper)
Published 22 January 2012, Retrieved 16 December 2018 *

Tamgha-i-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the P ...

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Lahore School of Economics faculty Government College University, Lahore alumni Writers from Lahore Alumni of the London School of Economics Government College University, Lahore faculty Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni Pakistani male television actors {{Pakistan-writer-stub