Shafqat Tanvir Mirza

Shafqat Tanvir Mirza – known by many as STM (6 February 1932 – 20 November 2012) was a Pakistani writer and a journalist. He was also a journalist union leader and was sent to jail twice because of his activities on behalf of newspapers he worked for.

Born in the village of Domeli, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, he studied at schools in Chakwal, Khushab, Wazirabad, Attock, Bahawalnagar and at Gordon College, Rawalpindi. Mirza's earlier career centred on Rawalpindi, where he worked for the daily newspapers Tameer and Hilal, as well as at Radio Pakistan. In 1970, he joined Daily Musawat, subsequently moving on to Daily Imroze, where he became the editor. In the 1990s, Shafqat Tanvir Mirza joined the English language newspaper Dawn, where he contributed regular columns on Punjabi language and culture.

Shafqat Tanvir Mirza was also active as an author, writing and translating a number of books. He wrote in Urdu, Punjabi and English.

• Tehreek-i-Azadi Vich Punjab da Hissa (Punjabi)
• Adab Raheen Punjab de Tareekh (Punjabi)
• Resistance Themes in Punjabi Literature (English)
• Making of a Nation (English)
• Shah Hussain, a biography of 16th century Sufi poet (in Urdu language)
• Lahu suhag, a Punjabi translation of Blood Wedding by Garcia Lorca
• Booha Koeena, a Punjabi translation of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
• Akhia Sachal Sarmast nay, a translation of the Seraiki prose of Sachal Sarmast

• Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2005