Athar Ali Hashmi, a 44-year-old senior journalist and editor-in-chief of the daily Jasrat, has died in Karachi.
He was 74 years old. He passed away this morning at dawn while asleep.
Athar Hashmi's death was confirmed by his son Hamad Ali Hashmi through a post on his Facebook account.
He was not only an Urdu teacher but also one of the people who taught journalism to a large number of young people.
He was one of the founders of the Arab news website Urdu News in Jeddah. He also became the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the daily Ummah and was associated with the London daily Jang.
Athar Ali Hashmi had obtained his M.Phil degree from Quaid-e-Azam University under the leadership of Prof. Ehsan Ahmad Wani by writing a dissertation on the economic policy of Aladdin Khilji.
Athar Ali Hashmi had a deep grasp on language and expression.
His famous column 'Khabar Lejiye Zaban Bagri' has the status of a certificate in terms of Urdu knowledge in which he used to point out and correct the common mistakes in the Urdu language. This column of the late has been published on DawnNews.tv for a long time.
Athar Ali Hashmi's funeral prayers were offered this afternoon in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 12 area of Karachi and he was later buried in Sachi Hassan's graveyard.
