Ishtiaq Ahmad (writer)
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Ishtiaq Ahmad (or Ishtiaq Ahmed or اﺸﺘﻴﺎﻖ اﺤﻤﺩ in Urdu), is primarily a fiction writer from Lahore, Pakistan, (originally from Jhang, Pakistan) famous for his detective novels. He was popular in the 70s and 80s and started, Inspector Jamshed series, Inspector Kamran Mirza series, and Shoki series. He is currently an editor of the magazine, "[Bachon ka islam] [1]".
Ishtiaq Ahmed has authored hundreds of suspense thriller novels in Urdu for kids during the 1970s, '80s and into the 1990s. His books were published at a very fast rate. His detective teams included Inspector Jamshed, Inspector Kamran as well as the Shoki brothers. It was the Inspector Jamshed team (and the series built around their escapades to protect Pakistan in general and the Muslim Nation in particular) that captured the imagination of several generations in Pakistan. The series featured a detective, Inspector Jamshed Ahmed, who solved crimes with the help of his three children, Mehmood, Farooq & Farzana. Inspector Jamshed was married, with his wife referred to as the children's mother or simply Mrs. Jamshed (Bhabhi in Urdu). In his detective work, he had not only his children to help, but also a retired army officer, Khan Rehman (who was very rich), and Professor Dawood, a brilliant scientist.
Inspector Jamshed's enemies were not just after money or power - they were morally corrupt and somehow always had some external forces (Zionists/Imperialists) helping them in their evil plans. Ishtiaq Ahmed was very expressive in his his resentment towards states or actors that he deemed anti-Islamic.
[edit] Style
Ishtiaq Ahmed is a master of writing suspense thrillers aimed at children under the age of twelve.
The novel always started with a Hadith, followed by "Doo Batain" (Two Words), although the order was reversed in the beginning. Depending on the size of the novel, there could be more than one Hadith, with a short comment for clarification.
The "Doo Batain" section started as a way to address the reader. It often contained news about the author, his interpretation of world events, possibly a preview regarding the story, or at times, a completely off the topic narrative. The ultimate purpose of this was to inform and entertain. Notable ones began with: "Doo Batain: Batain to shoro ker chuka, ab aagay kiya khaak likhoon ga?" ("My Two Cents Worth: worth what?").
[edit] Themes
In the early days, his characters solved simple problem: injustice, theft, or murder. With the advent of time, and as his popularity grew, he brought religion to the forefront of the novel's theme. It was always Islam against the world. But he also commented on another sect in Islam and prevalent in the Indo Sub-continent: Ahmadis. Called "Jabanis" in his writings, Ahmadis are, according to Pakistani law, non-Muslims. That is the belief of the author as well. In addition, he also warned his readers about Christian mercenaries in Pakistan and the ways they tried to influence young minds. Most of his novels contained a list of questions which were unanswerable by these Christians.
He is currently the editor of an online children's website BACHOON KA ISLAM, which also has some of his novels online.
