Shafqat Tanvir Mirza is a renowned writer, intellectual of Punjab who has devoted his life to further the cause of language and literature in Punjab. Though he writes in Punjabi, Urdu and English, his focus has more or less been Punjab. His English columns have been the window to the Punjab’s literary and art circles for the ‘educated’ middle class of the country.

Shafqat was born on 6 February 1932 at village Domaili of District Jhelum. After completing his education from Gordon College, Rawalpindi, he started his long journey into the world of journalism from daily ‘Tameer’, Rawalpindi. He later worked for Civil and Military Gazette, Nawa-e-Waqat, Imroze and Musawat in Lahore.

He was expelled from daily Hilal when Gen Ayub imposed martial law. He was imprisoned by Gen Yahya regime in 1970 and by Gen Ziaul Haq’s in 1983 for his refusal to accept curbs on press freedom. He was expelled for the same ‘crime’ from daily Imroze in 1991. But he put up stiff resistance and finally bid adieu to this institution and retired as its editor. Since 1992 he is writing columns for daily Dawn.

Shafqat also worked at radio and television. He made video documentaries on all the districts of Punjab and made a wonderful presentation on the diverse colors of this vast province. His English book ‘Resistance themes in Punjabi literature’ is an invaluable contribution to Punjab’s political history.

In Punjabi some of his remarkable works are:
Adab raheen Punjab de tareekh (Punjab’s history through literature)
Tehreek-e-Azadee wich Punjab da hissa (Punjab’s contribution in movement for freedom)
Lahoo Sohag – Translation of Lorka’s plays
Booha koee na – Translation of Sartre’s plays
Punjabi Adab

He also translated the work of a number of Punjabi poets into Urdu.
Shah Hussain (Jeevani)
Sachal Sarmast
Hashim Shah (Selection and Urdu translation)
Kook (Selection and Urdu translation of Ali Haider’s poetry)
Sar-e-Wade-e-Kashmir (His Urdu poetry on Kashmir).