| Zafar Iqbal | |
| Birth Date: | 1930 9, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Bahawalnagar, Punjab, British India |
| Nationality: | Pakistani |
| Occupation: | Poet, Writer Attorney Journalist |
| Awards: | Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1999 Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award by the President of Pakistan in 2014 |
| Relatives: | Aftab Iqbal (son) Junaid Iqbal (son) |
Zafar Iqbal (; born 27 September 1930) is an Urdu poet based in Okara, Punjab, Pakistan in Arain family. [1]
Zafar was born in 1930 in Bahawalnagar, Punjab where his maternal grandparents lived. He received his basic early education in Okara, Punjab which is his hometown and later moved to Lahore for his college education.His poetry is mainly in the genre of ghazal. The diction of his ghazal is entirely different from traditional Urdu poetry. He is a lawyer by profession, and regularly contributes articles to some Urdu newspapers.[1] [2]
In contrast to classical poets, Zafar's poetry portrays love as scientific and physical rather than supernatural. Dr Tabassam Kaashmiri called him Literature's renegade of the 20th century. Former Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Hanif Ramay, who was also a writer and a well-known literary critic, called him a poet of a new tone and new concepts.[3]
Besides being a poet, he has been a newspaper columnist for different newspapers for over 35 years. Considering that he also has been a professional lawyer for most of his adult life, those are not small accomplishments. He practised as an attorney, first in Okara and then in Lahore until 2003, when he had a heart bypass surgery and quit practicing law.[3]
Zafar has a son named Aftab Iqbal who is a newspaper columnist and a well-known TV anchor in Pakistan.[4]