Ahmad Faraz, Pakistani poet (b. 1931)

Syed Ahmad Shah (Urdu: سید احمد شاہ), better known by his pen name Ahmed Faraz, (Urdu: احمد فراز 12 January 1931 – 25 August 2008) was a Pakistani Urdu poet, scriptwriter and chairman of Pakistan Academy of Letters. He wrote his poetry under the pseudonym Faraz. He criticised military rule and coup d'état in the country and was displaced by the military dictators. He was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-e-Imtiaz. On 25 August 2008, he died in Islamabad, and later Government of Pakistan conferred Hilal-e-Pakistan posthumously upon Faraz for his contribution to poetry and Urdu literature.