KARACHI - Senior journalist and The Nation Karachi Resident Editor, Zamir Sheikh, passed away on Wednesday night in Karachi. He was 54.

Sheikh was admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital. He was suffering from chronic liver disease Hepatoma and remained under treatment at different hospitals for the past two months.

Sheikh has left behind a widow, three daughters and two sons.

Funeral prayer of Zamir Sheikh will be offered after Zohr prayers today (Thursday) at Masjid-e-Ghani, Block-21 Federal B area behind Lucky One Mall.

Sheikh started his journalistic career from Hyderabad in 80s after doing graduation from the Sindh University. As a student of political science, he keenly witnessed the anti-Ayub movement, emergence of Pakistan People’s Party and the rise and fall of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

During his career spanning over two-and-a-half decades, he worked for Daily The Muslim, news agencies Pakistan Press International and Online, Daily Star and several magazines. He extensively covered politics and issues of Sindh like Indus water and nationalist movement.

As he added experience and versatility to his profession, he decided to move to Karachi where he joined the Lahore-based Daily The Nation some 16 years back. Within a few years, he was made Resident Editor, a position he was serving to-date.

Sheikh was also the author of two books – What Went Wrong and Roshan Khayali Se Mullaeyat Tak. In his first book – What Went Wrong, Zamir Sheikh makes a bold attempt to look into the circumstances that contributed to the failure of Leftist Movement in Pakistan. The book traces the background of the movement and the Communist Party through interviews of leaders who despite extremely difficult conditions strove hard to get the Leftist philosophy recognized in Pakistan.

Inspired by the Leftist philosophy while he was still in school, Zamir Sheikh joined the National students Federation (NSF) as a college student. Based in Hyderabad, he witnessed how those who claimed to be on the side of the Left failed to get even a toehold in the country’s politics and make the Communist revolution part of the manifestos of mainstream political parties.