Eminent Urdu poet Sarfraz Shahid passed away after a protracted illness in Islamabad on Sunday, Aaj News reported.

His funeral prayers would be offered after Asr Namaz. The funeral prayers would be offered at the H-8 Graveyard in Islamabad.

The eminent poet was the father of Business Recorder's chief reporter Sohail Sarfraz.

Sarfraz Shahid was born in Ghakhar Mandi in Gujranwala. He had served at the met office for 30 years before he retired as a director. He had written over 30 books -- including seven of comic poetry.

Moreover, he was a recipient of numerous awards -- including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Amir Khusro Award and Pride of Performance. He was one of the celebrated humorous poets of the country and equally popular at home and abroad.

On April 07 2017, the then president Mamnoon Hussain conferred the Pride of Performance Award on Sarfraz Shahid in recognition of his extraordinary services in the field of literature.

Shahid had authored over 30 books -- including seven collections of original humorous poetry, namely Bila Takaluf, Kuch To Kahiay, Hera Phery, Chokay, Dish Antenna, Gufta Shagufta and Chokay Chakkay.

According to Shahid, Asadullah Khan Ghalib was the "best poet" in the world as he changed poetry patterns in Urdu and Persian and introduced a new way of presenting serious issues in a humorous way.

"Akbar Allahabadi, Nazeer Akbarabdi, Zameer Jaffri, Col Muhammad Khan and Shafique-ur Rehman were the best writers. I am impressed by Pitras Bukhari as his writing style was excellent and he is incomparable in Urdu literature," he had told [Dawn]1 in an interview on August 16, 2017.