Jan. 14 Iqbal Begum, 70 Widow of Sheikh Ayaz, she wrote short stories which were published in Naeen Zindagi, Adyoon, Mehran and other literary journals.

Jan. 17 Miskeen Ali Hijazi, 71 Former chairman of Punjab University's mass communication department, he authored a number of books including Fun-i-Adarat, Adaria Naweesi, Punjab ki  sahafat ki tareekh and a novel Allah ke Sipahi.

Jan. 26 Ahmad Hasan Dani, 88 Historian and authority on archaeology, culture and linguistics. He was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1969 and Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2000 and authored more than 30 books, the latest being a history of Pakistan published in 2008.

Feb. 5 Khalid Hasan, 74 Veteran Pakistani journalist, prolific writer and translator, he published over 40 books and 11 collections of reportage, political, literary and social writing.

Feb. 13 Allama Syed Pir Naseeruddin Naseer Gilani, 58 Renowned religious scholar and custodian of the Golra Sharif Shrine, he authored 36 books.

Feb. 17 Shabnam Roomani, 81 Poet, columnist and writer of the celebrated Masnawi Sair-i-Karachi. His real name was Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai and his first collection of poems, Jazeera, was published in 1979. Doosra Himala, his last collection, was published in 1999.

March 13 Suhail Ahmad Khan, 61 Urdu scholar, he was dean of Government College University's faculty of languages. He has seven books of poetry and literary criticism beside hundreds of literary articles to his credit.

March 21 Muhammad Iqbal Iqbal, 63 Pushto writer and Khudai Khidmatgar, his books include Da Livala Muhabat Da Rabab Trang (poetry) Teli Pahrona (short stories) and Phalwasa (poetry).

March 30 Malik Iqbal Hasan Bhapla, 67 Author, poet, critic, novelist and researcher, he authored 16 books most of them relating to Seraiki poetry.

March 31 Zawwar Husain Zaidi, 81 Academic and Quaid-i-Azam scholar, he was an authority on historical archives and documentation. His most outstanding work was the collection of the Jinnah Papers over 18 years; he produced 16 volumes of Jinnah Papers in English, six in Urdu and one in Persian. He also authored over 20 books.

April 7 Abdul Aziz Jafrani, 65 Academician, writer and intellectual May 4 Qamar Shahbaz, 75 Short story writer, poet, playwright, columnist and critic May 14 Khayal Amrohi, 79 Poet, writer and educationist, he authored 25 books on various topics, including four on poetry.

May 26 Syed Mumtaz Saeed, 72 Management expert and author of many books, including a critique of the great Urdu poet Jaun Elia. He received multiple awards for public service and leadership, and made many contributions to Karachi's cultural and literary scene.

June 8 Mukhtar Ghumro, 54 poet, author and columnist, his published works include Zindagi Day Mot, a Sindhi translation of Krishan Chandar's short stories; Chand Sitara Jholee Mein, a book of poetry for children and Gulan Haar, a guidebook for students of literature.

June 25 Kaleem Omar, 72 English-language poet and prolific journalist, he was known for his investigative reporting, political and economic columns and articles on current affairs.

July 15 Khurshid Kamal Aziz, 81 Historian and prolific writer, his books opened up aspects of history and culture thought to be concealed by official chroniclers. One of his most famous works is titled The Murder of History. The Coffee House of Lahore a memoir 1942-57 is his gift to the city that helped him determine his own place in history. He protested against ill-treatment by the government by returning his Sitara-i-Imtiaz.

Oct. 18 Waheed Qureshi, 84 Scholar, teacher, intellectual, Pakistan movement worker and former principal of Oriental College, Lahore.

Nov. 8 Mohammad Sabir, 74 Former chairman of the department of Islamic history and dean of the faculty of arts at Karachi University, he was the pioneer of Turkish studies in Pakistan. He compiled the first Urdu Turkish dictionary in collaboration with Pakistani and Turkish scholars in 1968.

— Compiled by Syed Azhar Ali