Tarique Ashraf

Tarique Ashraf (July 5, 1940 - April 14, 1992) was a Pakistani writer and publisher. He was the owner of Suhni printing press and editor-in-chief of Suhni Literary Magazine. His other works include his novel Meero Dharial and Jail Dairy. Ashraf introduced Sindhi short story writer Amar Jaleel by publishing his stories. Ashraf published Suhni's special edition called Amar Jaleel Number to promote him. Ashraf was born on July 5, 1940 in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan. His birth name was Syed Ashraf Ali Shah. His father was Syed Lutuf Ali Shah and his mother was Bano Bibi. He attended school at Hyderabad and received a Master of Arts degree from University of Sindh. His first story "Dari" (The Window) was published in the literary magazine Badal in 1960. His other early stories were published in Mehran, Rooh Rihan, and other Sindhi language magazines. In 1960, Tarique Ashraf and his friend Ghulam Nabi Mughal founded a publishing house named "Idara-e-Adab-e-Nau" (Institute of Modern Literature) and he published his own and other writers' literary works. This publishing house was later renamed as "Suhni Publications". At that time, only a few Sindhi language magazines were being published. He launched Suhni Magazine in 1966. Under his editorship, this magazine flourished. Suhni Magazine introduced new writers, and published special editions written by authors such as Amar Jaleel, Naseem Kharel and Shaikh Ayaz. Tarique was a revolutionary writer and wrote boldly against One Unit in Pakistan, the policies of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and General Zia-ul-Haq. He was jailed in 1975 for 22 months and again in 1983 for three months. While in jail he continued to write and publish. His books include: