Muhammad Izhar ul Haq, is a columnist and a renowned poet of Urdu language, in Pakistan. He has received international recognition for his contribution to Urdu literature, and has been awarded Pakistan’s highest civil award Pride of performance in 2008. He has published four books of Urdu poetry and writes weekly column in Daily Dunya.
Born on 14 Feb 1948 in the village Jhendial, in the district of Attock in Punjab, Muhammad Izhar ul Haq got his early education from his grandfather and father. His grandfather, Ghulam Muhammad, was a famous scholar and jurist of his time and was known to teach Persian literature and language. Muhammad Izhar ul Haq’s father, Hafiz Muhammad Zahoor ul Haq Zahoor, also a scholar of high repute, was author of a number of books in Persian and Urdu in poetry as well as prose. Muhammad Izhar ul Haq topped in Government College Rawalpindi in graduation examination and was awarded Federal Government Inter-wing fellowship under which he did his MA Economics from Dhaka University. Later, he did MA in Arabic from Punjab University as external candidate and also learnt Uzbek language in Islamabad. In 1972, he joined the Civil Service of Pakistan after qualifying the Central Superior Services competitive examination. He ascended to the highest echelon of bureaucracy in the federal government, before retiring in 2008.
Muhammad Izhar ul Haq has three sons and two daughters, and lives with Zahida Shaheen, his wife, in Islamabad and Melbourne.
