Ahmad Shameem eulogised

The veteran Kashmiri leader Sardar Abdul Qayyum went over the life and letters of the late Ahmad Shameem, a hardworking and competent officer, as well as prominent poet.
He said Ahmad Shameem projected the liberation struggle of Kashmir with earnestness and left a heritage of songs and patriotic lore for people to remember as inspiration for them to carry out the struggle, but never compromised with the oppressive forces.
Sardar Qayyum stated this in his address as chief guest at a literary conference organised jointly by the Pakistan Academy of Letters as well as Kashmir Cultural Academy here on Tuesday. The chief guest also added that Shameem never compromised with his ruling Dogra Raj and struggled continuously to win freedom from their oppressive regime.
Writer Shafqat Tanveer Mirza, presided over the literary moot, assessed Shameem, as an active member of freedom movement of Kashmir, and said the poet continued the struggle not only in his lyrics but practically as well.
Speaking on the occasion, Iftikhar Arif placed Shameem in the pantheon of modern Urdu poetry saying he nourished the tradition of Mehjur and Azad in Kashmiri literature, but he also wrote plays, fiction and criticism.
Poet Aftab Iqbal Shamim, a close friend of the deceased poet, referred to Shameem's poetry which was full of modern sensibility, established identity with various shades of life of the current times, and his poetry was steeped in love for humanity. Critic Dr Tauseef Tabassum spoke on the poet's deep love for literature, which kept him sustained till his death. But we also find a sense of humour in his work.
The poet's wife, who has recently written a book on her husband, said she had caught the memory of his life in the book she had written but she has also tried to give glimpses of his literary personality. Jawad Jaffri owed his training in journalism to Ahmed Shameem.
Secretary, Halqa-i-Arbab Zauq, Manzar Naqvi, paid glowing tributes to Ahmad Shameem and said he was a good man as well as a competent writer and his art reflected many shades of colours of this age.