LAHORE: Renowned radio and television anchor Tariq Aziz breathed his last after having a cardiac arrest at a local hospital on Wednesday morning. He was 84. Aziz was admitted to a private hospital on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday evening, Tariq while being on a death bed shared his feelings with fans on Twitter and wrote: "It seems as if time has paused and life has stopped. I've been lying in this bed for so many days and thinking what a blessing the freedom of movement itself was. I wonder when old times will return, for now I see no hope." In another tweet, Aziz revealed that his upcoming book titled "Footpath se Parliament Tak" was almost ready to be published. Aziz was born in Jalandhar on April 28, 1936. After partition, his family migrated to Pakistan and settled in Sahiwal, where he received his primary education. In 1960s, he started his career with Radio Pakistan and later went on to become Pakistan's first television host. His programme Neelam Ghar - later named Tariq Aziz Show - started in 1974 on Pakistan Television (PTV) and continued for four decades. He was also a former parliamentarian, a poet and an actor and performed in several radio and television programmes as well as in films. His first film, Insaniyat, was released in 1967. Other notable titles he acted in include Salgirah, Qasam Us Waqt Ki, Katari and Har Gaya Insan.
In 1992, he was awarded with the prestigious pride of performance award by the government for his services to the entertainment industry. He dabbled in politics as well and was a member of the National Assembly from 1997-99.
Earlier in the day, the passing away news of Tariq became the top trend on social media accounts with people belonging to all walks of life expressing their condolences and sharing their experiences with Aziz.
"A chapter closes with the sad demise of Tariq Aziz," tweeted President Arif Alvi and prayed for the anchor's soul to rest in peace. Prime Minister Imran Khan also expressed his condolences and tweeted: "Saddened to learn of the passing of Tariq Aziz, an icon in his time and a pioneer of our TV game shows. My condolences and prayers go to his family." Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif also extended his condolences to Aziz's family and said that the TV personality was a patriotic person who had proven his mettle.
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