Fakhar Zaman (Urdu: فخر زمان) was the chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters from 11 May 2008 to 12 March 2012, when Abdul Hameed replaced him as the next appointed chairman of the body. A leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the chairman of the World Punjabi Congress, he has also been playing a notable role in politics to achieve his sociopolitical ideals. He is a celebrated Pakistani writer who is author of 40 books in Punjabi, Urdu and English. His Punjabi novels and poetry have been translated into several major languages of the world and are taught at post-graduate level in different countries for students seeking PhD and M.Phil degrees. Thesis have been written on his Punjabi writings in India. Five of his Punjabi books including his modern classic novel "Bandiwan" (The Prisoner), were banned, forcibly lifted from book stores and burned publicly by the military government in 1978 and after a long drawn litigation, the ban was lifted after 18 years.