Ishtiaq Ahmad (writer)

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Ishtiaq Ahmad (or Ishtiaq Ahmed), is a fiction writer from Lahore, Pakistan, famous for his detective novels. He was popular in 70s and 80s and started, Inspector Jamshaid series, Inspector Kamran series, and Shoki series. He is currently editor of magazine, "[Bachon ka islam]".

Ishtiaq Ahmed: a brilliant mastermind who authored hundreds, if not thousands, of suspense thriller novels in Urdu for kids during the 1970s, 80’s and into the 1990s. Inspector Jamshed. Many of us will remember owning crates full of Ishtiaq Ahmed books – kids in mohalla even organized a book club where we loaned our Ishtiaq Ahmed books to each other for 25 paisas per novel.

Ishtiaq Ahmed was one hell of a prolific writer. His books were published at a rate faster than kid's can save money from lunch allowance to buy them (hence the need for the Mohalla library!). Even though his detective teams also included Inspector Kamran and the Shoki brothers, it was the Inspector Jamshed team (and the series built around their escapades to protect world peace) that captured the imagination of several generations in Pakistan. The series featured a detective, inspector Jamshed, who solved crimes with the help of his three children, Mehmood, Farooq & Farzana. Inspector Jameshed hated evil and in his crime-fighting he had not only his children to help, but also a retired army officer, Khan Rehman, and Professor Daod.

Mehmood was always the smart one, the trio’s leader with brilliant ideas, Farooque was the street smart, witty one, and Farzana always knew when danger was lurking around the corner. And the evil? Jaral, who appeared in several novels, was the number one enemy. Inspector Jamshed’s enemies were not just after money or power - they were morally corrupt and somehow always had some external forces helping them in their evil plans. It has been said that Ishtiaq Ahmed was not very subtle in disguising his resentment towards states or actors that he deemed anti-Islamic.

Ishtiaq Ahmed created characters that were larger than life - but they were inspirational for young men and women of that age and time. Inspector Jamshed, Mehmood, Farooq and Fazana were heroes, who were smart, witty, brave, and fought for the righteousness. Ishtiaq Ahmed wrote beautifully in a language that many now do not study for its poetry or prose. His contribution to Urdu literature, unfortunately, has not been acclaimed in a deserving manner, but his fans remember him well.