LAHORE: Veteran journalist Ashraf Mumtaz died peacefully at his home in Lahore on Friday morning and was buried the same day in one of the city’s oldest graveyards, surrounded by members of the journalism community of which he was a part for over four decades.
The last stint of his career was as a columnist for Arab News Pakistan, where he covered mostly domestic politics with his signature style of reporting, historical context and sharp analysis. His final opinion piece on the current political crisis in the country was published on May 20, where he expressed hope that things in Pakistan would get better if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) went back to Parliament.
Mumtaz worked as chief reporter for Dawn, before moving to a popular English daily, The Nation, as editor for reporting. Since 2022, he exclusively wrote opinion pieces for Arab News Pakistan. His interests lay squarely in Pakistani politics, and by his own admission: “Sometimes I appear to be over-enthusiastic after some political development in the country. That’s only because I have spent all my professional life in reporting or heading reporting teams,” he wrote in an email earlier this year.
His opinion pieces and pitches arrived promptly and on time every other Wednesday, and he is remembered at Arab News Pakistan as a thorough professional, who at his heart, remained a curious and enthusiastic reporter in the country he served all his life.
