TNI Bureau: Renowned columnist and author Tarek Fatah passed away today. He was suffering from cancer and died at the age of 73.
Confirming about Tarek Fatah’s death his daughter Natasha Fatah tweeted, “Lion of Punjab. Son of Hindustan. Lover of Canada. Speaker of truth. Fighter for justice. Voice of the down-trodden, underdogs, and the oppressed. @TarekFatah has passed the baton on… his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him. Will you join us? 1949-2023.”
It is to be noted here that several reports had claimed the death of Tarek Fatah on April 21. However, those reports were later turned out to be fake.
Tarek Fatah was born in Pakistan’s Karachi. His folks had migrated from Bombay to Karachi following the Partition of India in 1947, which is why he called himself an ‘Indian born in Pakistan’ and a ‘Punjabi born into Islam’ and had criticised the partition of India.
Tarek Fatah graduated with a degree in biochemistry from the University of Karachi but entered into journalism and began his career as a reporter for the Karachi Sun in 1970. He was a vocal critic of the Pakistani religious and political establishment.
Fatah was a fierce supporter of LGBT rights, opposed the sharia law, and advocated for a liberal and progressive form of Islam. He was charged with sedition and barred from journalism by the Zia-ul Haq regime. He left Pakistan and settled in Saudi Arabia, before emigrating to Canada in 1987.