Veteran journalist Idrees Bakhtiar dies at 74

KARACHI: Eminent journalist Idrees Bakhtiar died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday in Karachi at the age of 74, ARY News reported.

Sources said that Idrees Bakhtiar was admitted to the National Institute of Cardio Vascular Disease two days back after he complained of chest pain.

The journalist suffered two more heart attacks while undergoing angioplasty, the sources said and added that he breathed his last on Wednesday evening. He served journalism for over 50 years.

His family said that Bakhtiar’s funeral prayer will be offered after Fajr at Waseem Bagh mosque in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D on Thursday.

Born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, in 1944, his family migrated to Pakistan soon after partition and settled in Hyderabad, Sindh, where he had his education from school to university.

Expressing grief over the death of Bakhtiar, President Arif Alvi said in his tweet,” What a sad departure. May his soul rest in peace and may Allah grant his family the strength to bear this loss.”

 

What a sad departure. My dear friend whom I had known for decades, the nice courteous journalist Idrees Bakhtiar has passed away إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
May his soul rest in peace and may Allah grant his family the strength to bear this loss.

— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) May 29, 2019

Offering condolence on the sad demise of Bakhtiar, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb said that Idrees Bakhtiar was a credible reference to journalism in Pakistan and added that Bakhtiar earned great name in national and international media. She said that may his soul rest in peace.

 

ادریس بختیار پاکستانی صحافت کا ایک بڑا معتبر حوالہ تھے
انہوں نے ملکی اور غیرملکی ذرائع ابلاغ میں شاندار پیشہ وارنہ نام کمایا .کالم نگار کے طورپر حساس اور نازک موضوعات پر بھی جرات مندی سے اپنا نکتہ نظر پیش کرتے رہے.اللہ تعالی مرحوم کو اپنے جوار رحمت میں جگہ عطاءفرمائے.

— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) May 29, 2019