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| Ata Ul Haq Qasmi and Shamoil Ahmad |
The annual awards, instituted by Doha-based leading literary organisation Majlis Frogh-e-Urdu Adab in 1996, will be presented at a ceremony in Doha in early November this year.
The award carries a cash prize of IRs150,000 and a gold medal for each winner. It is given annually to a fiction writer each from India and Pakistan for their significant contribution towards the promotion of the Urdu language and literature.
Majlis chairman Mohamed Atiq said yesterday that the winners were chosen by two independent juries, comprising eminent Urdu scholars in Lahore and New Delhi.
The Pakistani panel was headed by renowned Urdu scholar and satirist Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi. The other members were Iftikhar Arif, Mukhtar Masood and Dr Salim Akhter.
The Indian jury was headed by Prof Dr Gopi Chand Narang (former chairman, Sahitya Academy, India), with Dr Mohamed Zakir, Chander Bhan Khayal and Dr Parvez Shaharyar as members.
Qasmi, 69, a columnist and journalist, has held a number of distinguished posts, including Lahore Arts Council chairman, Punjab government’s civil awards committee member, Writers’ Welfare Fund member, and Majlis Taraqqi-e- Adab (Lahore) board member.
He was a former Ambassador to Norway and Thailand and associate professor, Urdu Department, Government F C College, Lahore.
The most distinguished feature of Qasmi’s columns is his satire on inequalities of the society and his bold anti-dictatorship stance.
He is credited with a unique, captivating and humorous style of writing which holds the attention of the readers till the last line of his column. Qasmi has also authored a number of books.
In recognition of his literary services, Qasmi was awarded ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ and ‘Pride of Performance’ by the Government of Pakistan, in addition to Adamjee Award, National Bank Award and Rasheed Ahmed Siddiqui Award.
The award winner from India, Ahmad, 67, is a freelance bilingual creative fiction writer, scriptwriter, and technical translator.
He writes with equal proficiency in Urdu and Hindi and has translated his own works into English. His two novels and collections of short stories have won him great acclaim. One of his novels and collections of short stories in English has recently been published by a German Publishing House.
Delhi Doordarshan made a 51-episode teleserial of his short story Singhaardan in 2007- 2008 in addition to telefilms on two of his short stories.
He has also translated number of novels and stories and written technical books for various institutions in countries including India, US, China, Croatia and Switzerland. He has also a great interest in astrology.